teasing
Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
Related to teasing: Eve teasing
tease
(tēz)v. teased, teas·ing, teas·es
v.tr.
1.
a. To make fun of (someone) playfully or taunt annoyingly: was teased by my classmates for being skinny; teased him about driving such a fast car.
b. To say in a playful or mocking way: "But you're too young to get married," he teased.
c. To provoke or irritate, as with physical movements: teased the cat by dangling a string in its face.
d. To arouse sexual desire in (someone) deliberately with no intention of having sex.
e. To urge persistently; coax: teased their mother to let them stay up late.
2.
a. To disentangle and dress the fibers of (wool, for example).
b. To ruffle (the hair) by combing from the ends toward the scalp for an airy, full effect.
c. To raise the nap of (cloth) by dressing, as with a fuller's teasel.
d. To cut (tissue, for example) into pieces for examination.
e. To extract, identify, or cause to come about. Used with out: The director teased a good performance out of the actors. The researcher teased out the factors involved in the disease.
v.intr.
To annoy or make fun of someone persistently: I was just teasing.
n.
1. An act of teasing, especially a playfully mocking remark: his tease of his friend's little sister.
2. One that teases, as:
a. A person who makes fun of or annoys others, as with playful or taunting remarks.
b. A flirtatious person.
[Middle English tesen, to comb apart, from Old English tǣsan.]
teas′ing·ly adv.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. |  teasing - the act of harassing someone playfully or maliciously (especially by ridicule); provoking someone with persistent annoyances; "he ignored their teases"; "his ribbing was gentle but persistent"harassment, molestation - the act of tormenting by continued persistent attacks and criticism |
| 2. | teasing - playful vexation; "the parody was just a form of teasing" | |
| 3. | teasing - the act of removing tangles from you hair with a comb | |
| Adj. | 1. |  teasing - playfully vexing (especially by ridicule); "his face wore a somewhat quizzical almost impertinent air"- Lawrence Durrellplayful - full of fun and high spirits; "playful children just let loose from school" |
| 2. | teasing - arousing sexual desire without intending to satisfy it; "her lazy teasing smile" seductive - tending to entice into a desired action or state | |
| 3. |  teasing - causing irritation or annoyance; "tapping an annoying rhythm on his glass with his fork"; "aircraft noise is particularly bothersome near the airport"; "found it galling to have to ask permission"; "an irritating delay"; "nettlesome paperwork"; "a pesky mosquito"; "swarms of pestering gnats"; "a plaguey newfangled safety catch"; "a teasing and persistent thought annoyed him"; "a vexatious child"; "it is vexing to have to admit you are wrong"annoying, bothersome, galling, irritating, nettlesome, pesky, pestering, plaguy, vexatious, vexing, plaguey, pestiferous disagreeable - not to your liking; "a disagreeable situation" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
aguichage
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
teasing
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995