tease
tiːz
Definition Synonyms Conjugation

Definition of tease - Reverso English Dictionary

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Verb

tr.
1.
behaviorprovoke someone by persistent annoyance
  • He would tease his sister until she got angry.
annoy bother harass
2.
playful mockerymake fun of someone in a playful way
  • She likes to tease her brother about his new haircut.
mock ridicule taunt
3.
enticingentice someone without intending to satisfy
  • She would tease him with promises of a date.
provoke tantalize torment

Noun

1.
playful provocationact of provoking someone playfully
  • His constant tease was all in good fun.
banter ribbing taunt
2.
playful personperson who mocks or annoys playfully
  • He's such a tease, always joking around.
jester joker prankster
3.
seductive personperson who arouses desire without satisfying it
  • She was known as a tease at the party.
coquette flirt tempter
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Expressions with tease

💡 Discover popular phrases, idioms, collocations, or phrasal verbs. Click any expression to learn more, listen to its pronunciation, or save it to your favorites.
unravel or separate with care or effort
She tried to tease out the knots in the thread.
gently lift or separate hair
She used a comb to tease up her hair for volume.
distinguish between closely related concepts
It's hard to tease apart fact from fiction in this story.

Origin of tease

Old English, tæsan (pluck)

Terms with tease included in their meaning

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kidv.
humor
joke or tease someone playfully
playful warning
used jokingly or playfully when someone reaches to grab or tease
teasing
tease or mock someone in a playful or unkind way
gesture
push tongue out to tease, joke, or be rude
teasing
tease or provoke someone persistently
sentimental tease
used to suggest someone is crying or strongly moved
joking
joke or tease playfully with someone
humor
joke or tease in a light-hearted way

Examples of tease in a sentence

  • The boy liked to tease his dog with a toy.
  • They would often tease him about his accent.
  • He loves to tease his friends during game night.
  • He would tease her with hints of a surprise.
  • They tease the audience with glimpses of the new movie.
  • The stylist teased the model's hair for the photoshoot.

View all translations of tease

Click below to see the appropriate translations facing each meaning.
  1. French:taquiner, taquinerie, ...
  2. German:ärgern, Necken, ...
  3. Italian:stuzzicare, scherzo, ...
  4. Spanish:molestar, broma, ...
  5. Portuguese:provocar, provocação, ...
  6. Chinese:逗弄, 爱开玩笑的人, ...
  7. Japanese:からかう, からかい, ...
  8. Arabic:ضَايَقَ, مُداعَبَة, ...
  9. Hebrew:לְהַקְנִיט, קִנְטוּר, ...
  10. Russian:дразнить, поддразнивание, ...
  11. Ukrainian:дражнити, жарт, ...
  12. Hindi:चिढ़ाना, छेड़छाड़, ...
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