/tiːz/
OriginFrom Middle English tesen, from Old English tǣsan (“to tease”), from Proto-West Germanic *taisijan (“to separate, tug, shred”).
- transitiveTo separate the fibres of (a fibrous material).
- transitiveTo comb (originally with teasels) so that the fibres all lie in one direction.
- transitiveTo backcomb.
- transitiveTo poke fun at, either cruelly or affectionately in a playful way.
“The difference between teasing and taunting is like the difference between kissing and spitting. The ingredients are the same; it is the emotion that determines whether it is pleasing or repellent....”
“The beast in the past has done horrible stuff / And his victims were left quite displeased / No one knows what he's so angry about / Maybe once in third grade he was teased”
- transitiveTo provoke or disturb; to annoy.
“Not by the force of carnal reason, / But indefatigable teasing.”
“I am myself, the sweetest temper'd man alive, and hate a teasing temper; and so I tell her a hundred Times a day—”
“He[…]suffered them to tease him into acts directly opposed to his strongest inclinations.”
- transitiveTo manipulate or influence the behavior of, especially by repeated acts of irritation.
“A young woman, if she fall into bad hands, may be teazed, and kept at a distance from those she wants to be with; but one cannot comprehend a young man’s being under such restraint, as not to be able ”
- transitiveTo entice, tempt.
“[H]ere comes my Helpmate!—She appears in great good humour——how happy I should be if I could teaze her into loving me tho' but a little——”
- transitiveTo deliberately arouse someone sexually with no intention of satisfying that arousal.
“My favorite fantasy is being tied down and teased and teased.”
- informal, transitiveTo show as forthcoming, in the manner of a teaser.
“a less interesting character here than in the previous two films, Caesar glowers through the movie, as though aware that he has been condemned to a script that is rushing to clear the stage for the st”
- One who teases.
- A single act of teasing.
- One who deliberately arouses others (usually men) sexually with no intention of satisfying that arousal.
Formsteases(present, singular, third-person) · teasing(participle, present) · teased(participle, past) · teased(past) · teaze(alternative, dated) · teize(alternative, obsolete) · tieze(alternative, obsolete) · teases(plural)