Tease

Definition: Tease

Tease

Noun

1. Someone given to teasing (as by mocking or stirring curiosity).

2. A seductive woman who uses her sex appeal to exploit men.

3. 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".

Verb

1. Annoy persistently; "The children teased the boy because of his stammer".

2. Harass with persistent criticism or carping; "The children teased the new teacher"; "Don't ride me so hard over my failure"; "His fellow workers razzed him when he wore a jacket and tie".

3. Offer and withdraw.

4. Tear into pieces; "tease tissue for microscopic examinations".

5. Raise the nap of (fabrics).

6. Disentangle and raise the fibers of; "tease wool".

7. Separate the fibers of.

8. Ruffle by combing towards the ends towards the scalp, for a full effect; of hair.

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "tease" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1588. (references)

tease

Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

Synonyms: Tease

Aggravation

Verb: aggravate, render worse, heighten, embitter, sour; exacerbate; exasperate, envenom; enrage, provoke, tease.

Malevolence

Molest, worry, harass, haunt, harry, bait, tease; throw stones at; play the devil with; hunt down, dragoon, hound; persecute, oppress, grind; maltreat; illtreat, ill-use.

Pain

Displease, annoy, incommode, discompose, trouble, disquiet; faze, feaze, feeze (U.S.); disturb, cross, perplex, molest, tease, tire, irk, vex, mortify, wherret, worry, plague, bother, pester, bore, pother, harass, harry, badger, heckle, bait, beset, infest, persecute, importune.

Ridicule

Verb: ridicule, deride, mock, taunt; laugh in one's sleeve; tease, badinage, banter, rally, chaff, joke, twit, quiz, roast; haze; tehee; fleer; show up.

Crosswords: Tease

Hey you now, the first time I try to talk to you, you embarrass me. So I tease you a little bit, which maybe I shouldn't have done, so I'm sorry (City Slickers; writing credit: Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, and Billy Crystal)

Don't tease me. (Top Gun; writing credit: Ehud Yonay; Jim Cash)

How could anyone tease a boy with such lovely eyes (Will & Grace; writing credit: Evan Weinstein)

It's easy to tease (EYES WITHOUT A FACE; performing artist: Billy Idol)

The way you talk, the way you tease (Ain't Nothing 'Bout You; performing artist: Brooks & Dunn)

You gotta squeeze a little, squeeze a little, tease a little more (Pour Some Sugar On Me; performing artist: Def Leppard)

And she'll tease you, she'll unease you ("Bette Davis Eyes"; performing artist: Kim Carnes)

I'm a bitch, I'm a tease (Bitch; performing artist: Meredith Brooks)

Tease for Two (1965)

Strip Tease Murder (1961)

Swiss Tease (1947)

The Little Tease (1913)

Holly Body's Stocking Tease (1996)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• Never Tease a Weasel (reference)

• Never Tease a Wolf (reference)

• Tales to Tease the Senses (reference)

  (more book examples)

Theater & Movies

• Midnight Tease 1 & 2 (reference)

• Tease (reference)

• The Big Tease (reference)

• Midnight Tease (reference)

• Midnight Tease II (reference)

  (more DVD examples; more video examples)

Music

• String Tease (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Health

Others are looking at the mechanism of fatigue, and trying to tease out information from the brain, muscles, and neuromuscular junction (the site where a nerve cell meets the muscle cell it helps activate). (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Expressions using "tease": do smth. for a tease ♦ strip tease ♦ strip tease artist ♦ tease apart ♦ tease each other ♦ tease out ♦ Tease tenon ♦ to tease cloth with worn fuller thistles. Additional references.

Ending with "tease": strip-tease.

Afrikaans

pla. (various references)

Albanian

vë në lojë (guy, hoax, hocus, pull smb.'s leg), ngas (bother, drive, fly, irritate, Josh, molest, pilot, ride, run, steer), ngacmoj (annoy, badger, banter, bedevil, bother, chaff, chip, dare, excite, guy, harass, Harrow, Harry, irritate, jolly, molest, monkey, nag, nettle, provoke, rag, rally, ruffle, tamper), gërgas, bezdis (bore, displease, get, grate, Harrow, hassle, importune, inconvenience, nag, peeve, persecute, pester, press, pursue, ruffle, trouble, vex). (various references)

Arabic 

‏مهيج (agitating, exciting, incendiary, provocative, rousing), ‏مضايق (annoying, bothersome, disagreeable, disturbing, irksome, irritating, teaser, troublesome, vexatious, vexing), ‏مازح (banter, fool around with, frolicsome, jest with, jocular, joke), ‏مشط الشعر, ‏مشط (card, clip, coif the hair, coiffure the hair, comb, do the hair, do up the hair, dress, reed, scour, style the hair), ‏هيج (agitate), ‏نفش (ruffle), ‏ندف, ‏عذب (agonize, agreeable, bedevil, benign, charming, chasten, crucify, devil, dulcet, freshen, grilled, harrow, harry, hearty, leisurely, liquid, murder, palmy, persecute, pillory, plague, quiet, rack, rack one's brains, scourge, silken, silky, sleek, smite, smooth, smooth spoken, soft, suave, sweet, sympathetic, tantalize, tender, torment, torture, wrench, wring), ‏أثار (aggravate, arouse, awaken, bestir, burn, chafe, elicit, engage, evoke, exacerbate, exalt, excite, fan, ferment, flurry, foment, fray, frazzle, fret, fuss, gall, get, gravel, gripe, heat, impassion, inflame, infuriate, inspire, instigate, irritate, itch, jog, jostle, kindle, madden, move, outrage, pique, remnant, rile, rouse, sour, stimulate, switch on, thrill, touch off, transport, trigger, trouble, turn on, unsettle, urge, vex, whet, whip, work). (various references)

Bulgarian 

разчепквам (card, pick, pick out), разнищвам (decompose, disentangle, pick, unravel), чепквам, шегувам се с, шега (chaff, fun, game, hoax, jape, jest, jig, joke, lark, pleasantry, prank, quiz, raillery, rib, sport, trick, waggery), кардирам (card, raise, teasel), вбесявам (aggravate, enrage, exasperate, incense, infuriate, mad, madden), нищя, закачка (chaff, fun, gird, jest, kidding, pleasantry, rib, twit, waggery, yak), закачам (append, bangle, catch, clasp, dangle, graze, hang, hang out, hang up, hitch, hook, jive, jolly, pin on, pin up, put up, rib, ride, roast, rough-house, tooth, twit), подразням (annoy, irritate, suborder, vex), дразня (annoy, bait, bosh, bugger about, bullyrag, burn up, dig, exacerbate, fetch, fray, fuss, gall, gravel, gripe, harass, irritate, jar, jive, mad, madden, nag, niggle, nip, offend, peeve, pinprick, piss off, play up, provoke, rag, rasp, rib, ride, rile, rub, spite, titillate, try, twit, vex, worry), досаждам (annoy, chagrin, intrude, persecute, pester, torment, vex, weary). (various references)

Chinese 

�'� (lift up, pull up, stitch, take), 戏弄 (teased, teasing), 戲耍 , 取笑 , 嬲 (disturb). (various references)

Czech

vtipálek (comedian, comic, joker, witling), soužit (pester, plague, vex), popichovat (taunt), dráždit (annoy, irk, irritate), dobírat si (kid, pick, sneer), èesat vlnu, šprýmař (card, comedian, comic, jester, joker, teaser, wag), škádlit (bait, banter, kid, rib). (various references)

Danish

særlig effekt ved anvendelse af afslidte tidsler (to tease cloth with worn fuller thistles). (various references)

Dutch

plagen (afflict, plague). (various references)

Esperanto

inciteti. (various references)

Farsi 

پوش دادن مو, کسی رادست انداختن (Josh, Tantalize), سخنان نیشدارگفتن , اذیت کردن (Annoy, Badger, Bedevil, Grieve, Grind, Harass, Hock, Hurt, Indemnify, Needle, Offend, Pester, Worry), اذیت (Annoyance, Harm, Hindrance, Inconvenience, Mischief, Nuisance). (various references)

Finnish

tehdä kiusaa, kiusoitella (chaff), kiusata (annoy, harass, tempt, torment, trouble, vex, worry), härnätä (chaff), ärsyttää (abet, agitate, excite, incite, irritate, provoke, rouse, stimulate, stir up). (various references)

French

taquiner, agacer. (various references)

German

reizen (abet, aggravate, annoy, appeal, bid, bidden, bidding, excite, incite, irritate, irritation, itch, peeve, pique, provoke, rile, rouse, stimulate, stir up, tempt, to irritate, to pique). (various references)

Greek 

πειράζω (annoy, badinage, banter, chaff, gall, grate on, haze, jar on, mind, peeve, pick on, rally, rile, tempt, vex). (various references)

Hebrew 

לק� טר (anger, chide, nag, provoke, rebuke, vex), ל�"ת�'רות (be provoked, be taunted, challenge, pick a quarrel, taunt), ל�"ק� יט (annoy, irritate, molest, peeve, provoke, spite, vex), ל�"ציק (aggravate, aggrieve, ail, annoy, harass, irk, molest, nag, persecute, pester, shove around, torment, vex), לס� וט (annoy, irritate, mock, sneer). (various references)

Hungarian

kínoz (afflict, agonize, bedevil, excruciate, rack, to afflict, to agonize, to bully, to crucify, to discommode, to hag, to harry, to lacerate, to obsess, to pain, to rack, to torment, to torture, torment, torture, wring), kötekedik (jape, to banter, to jape, to pull one's leg, to taunt). (various references)

Indonesian

merayu (persuade, seduce), menggoda (entice, hazily, seduce, see: goda, tantalize, tempt), bercanda (act playfully, be capricious, caper), beragan-agan (annoy). (various references)

Italian

irritare (anger, annoy, become irritated, chafe, enrage, fret, gall, irritate, nettle, provoke, rile, rouse, vex). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

揶揄 (banter, banter with, raillery, ridicule), 悪戯 (mischief, practical joke, prank, trick). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

いたずら (mischief, practical joke, prank, trick), あくぎ (mischief, practical joke, prank, trick), やゆ (banter, banter with, raillery, ridicule). (various references)

Korean 

놀리십시�". (various references)

Manx

boireyder (annoyer, nuisance, teaser, troubler, worrier). (various references)

Pig Latin

easetay.(various references)

Portuguese

importunar (badger, bother, devil, disturb, hinder, importune, incommode, lay siege to, nag, persecute, pester, pick at, plague, pursue, solicit, tire, trouble). (various references)

Romanian

tachina (banter, chaff, Josh, lark, rag), dezlâna (unravel), şicana, chihãi (pester), cicãlealã (cavil, fault finding, nag, teasing), cicãli (badger, Bicker, carp, cavil, Chevy, nag, nagnag), da la darac, dãrãcire, dãrãcit (carding, combing), agasa (annoy, banter, chaff, irritate, ruffle, worry), destrãma (decay, disintegrate, dissolve, open, Ravel, unravel, unweave), zãdãrî (excite, harass, rip up), hãrţui (dragoon, harass, infest, squabble, worry, wrangle), necãji (anger, badger, bait, bother, crab, depress, dishearten, endeavor, endeavour, fret, gall, grieve, irritate, lark, molest, rile, spite, trouble, vex, worry), persoanã cicãlitoare (nagger), pieptãna (comb, dress), supãra (anger, annoy, ballyrag, chafe, exasperate, grieve, inconvenience, irk, irritate, miff, molest, nettle, offend, pester, pinch, plague, provoke, reck, rile, rumple, spite, trouble, vex), urzica (bite, nettle, sting, taunt), dãscãli (jaw, reprimand, sermonize, teach). (various references)

Russian 

дразнить (chaff, razz, teased, vex). (various references)

Scottish

cìr (a comb, as wool, comb, crest of a cock, cud). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

zafrkavati, zadirkivati (badinage, chaff, josh, kid, needle, put on, rag, rib, twit), zadevalo (teaser), razmrsiti (disembroil, disentangle, sort out, straighten out, unravel, unscramble, unsnarl, untangle), češljati (comb, teasel). (various references)

Spanish

molestar (annoy, badger, bar, bedevil, bother, commove, discommode, distract, disturb, estop, fag, faze, fret, fuss, harass, hassle, hinder, incommode, inconvenience, inflict, inhibit, intrude, irritate, molest, nettle, persecute, pester, prevent, put about, put out, put upon, trouble, worry), fastidiar (annoy, badger, bother, bug, devil, fuss, hassle, importune, irk, nag, needle, pip, play up, tick off, vex), embromar (twit, wheedle). (various references)

Swedish

retas med (chaff, kid, rally, rib), reta (aggravate, anger, bait, exasperate, excite, fret, gall, get, irk, irritate, nark, provoke, rag, ruffle, tantalise, tantalize, taunt, twit, vex), käxa. (various references)

Turkish

takılmak (banter, be affixed, be attached, catch, chaff, chip, guy, hang out, haunt, hook, impose oneself on, jam, jam in, jolly, Josh, kid, lark, lark about, lark around, lock, lock on, pull smb.'s leg, rally, rib, rot, seize, seize up, snag, sport, stick, stick around), takılan kimse (banterer, teaser), sataşmak (annoy, go for, hit at, pick on, ride, twit), kabartmak (blister, bloat, bloat up, fluff, fluff out, fluff up, puff, puff up, raise, roughen, roughen up, ruffle, scribble, vesicate), kızdırmak (aggravate, anger, annoy, badger, bait, bug, burn, chafe, enrage, exacerbate, exasperate, gall, get across, get in one's hair, heat, heat up, huff, incense, inflame, infuriate, irritate, nettle, overheat, peeve, play to, provoke, put about, put out, put smb. out of temper, put smb.'s nose out of joint, rile, rough the wrong way, rouse, ruffle smb.'s temper, steam up, superheat, twit, vex), kızdırıp kimse, ditmek (heckle, scribble, scutch), baş belâsı (a thorn in the flesh, a thorn in the side, annoyance, bother, confounded, headache, hellbender, nuisance, old man of the sea, pain in the neck, pestilent, pestilential, stiff, tough, troublemaker, troublesome). (various references)

Turkmen 

gьjeсlemek (tantalize). (various references)

Ukrainian

спроба роздратувати, ворсувати (nap, teasel), набридати (aggravate, bother, dun, interfere, persecute, tire, weary, worry), любитель дражнити, дражнити (badger, badinage, bait, banter, chaff, needle, pick on, quiz, rag, start on, taunt, vex). (various references)

Vietnamese 

sự trêu chòng, người hay trêu chòng sự chòng ghẹo, người chòng ghẹo. (various references)

Welsh

profocio (badger, banter, provoke), plagio (plague, torment). (various references)

fatigare, fatigo, lod, lud, ludam, ludant, luddeo, luddeum, lude, ludebant, ludebat, ludens, ludent, ludentem, ludentes, ludentibus, ludentium, luderet, lusistis, lusit, obtundere, vexare. (various references)

Derivations

Words beginning with "tease": teased, teasel, teaseled, teaseler, teaselers, teaseling, teaselled, teaselling, teasels, teaser, teasers, teases. (additional references)

Words ending with "tease": protease, striptease. (additional references)

Words containing "tease": brainteaser, brainteasers, proteases, stripteaser, stripteasers, stripteases. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Tease" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: dease, etae, Etage, etuse, Etxabe, fease, steaze, tase, tasi, teabe, teace, teale, teame, teane, teape, teaqe, teare, tearse, teass, teasy, teave, teaz, teaze, teese, teeshe, teeze, teige, telsa, teose, tese, teso, teuce, texass, thaze, traze, trease, twase, vease. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Direct Anagrams: setae.

-1 letter: ates, ease, east, eats, etas, sate, seat, seta, teas, tees.

-2 letters: ate, eat, eta, sae, sat, sea, see, set, tae, tas, tea, tee.

-3 letters: ae, as, at, es, et, ta.

+1 letter: aretes, easter, eaters, egesta, elates, enates, estate, etapes, peseta, reseat, sateen, seated, seater, sedate, senate, stelae, teased, teasel, teaser, teases, testae.

+2 letters: acetose, aerates, aeriest, aethers, afreets, austere, beastie, beaters, berates, bestead, betakes, caseate, casette, celesta, cerates, cetanes, coatees, creates, deadest, deafest, dearest, debates, defeats, delates, derates, eaglets, earnest, easiest, eastern, easters, ecartes, ectases, elaters, eluates, entases, equates, ergates, escheat, estated, estates, estreat, etesian, ethanes, feasted, feaster, featest, gametes, gelates, gestate, goatees, headset, heaters, ideates, lateens, latexes, leanest, legates, meanest, metages, metates, metepas, nearest, neatens, neatest, negates, oleates, pectase, penates, pesetas, realest, rebates, redates, reheats, relates, remates, repeats, reseats, reslate, restage, restate, retakes, retapes, retaste, retaxes, reteams, retears, roseate, sateens, sauteed, searest, seaters, sedated, sedater, sedates, segetal, sejeant, senates, sensate, septate, seriate, serrate, sheathe, standee, steaded, stealer, steamed, steamer, sweated, sweater, taxemes, teaches, tearers, teasels, teasers, teazels, teazles, telegas, tenaces, tessera, testate, texases, weakest, yeasted.