tease

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English [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

Etymology [edit]

From Middle English tesen, from Old English tǣsan (“to tease”), from Proto-Germanic *taisijanan (“to separate, tug, shred”), from Proto-Indo-European *dāy- (“to separate, divide”). Cognate with Dutch tezen (“to pull, tug, scratch”), Danish tæse (“to tease”). Related to touse, tose.

Verb [edit]

tease (third-person singular simple present teases, present participle teasing, simple past and past participle teased)

  1. To separate the fibres of a fibrous material.
  2. To comb (originally with teasels) so that the fibres all lie in one direction.
  3. To back-comb.
  4. To poke fun at.
  5. To provoke or disturb by annoying remarks and other annoyances.
    • 1907, Robert Chambers, chapter 8, The Younger Set[1]:
      “ My tastes,” he said, still smiling, “ incline me to the garishly sunlit side of this planet.” And, to tease her and arouse her to combat : “ I prefer a farandole to a nocturne ; I'd rather have a painting than an etching ; … ”
  6. To entice, to tempt.

Derived terms [edit]

Translations [edit]

to separate the fibers
to comb
to poke fun at
to provoke or disturb
to entice
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Noun [edit]

tease (plural teases)

  1. One who teases.
  2. A single act of teasing.
  3. A cock tease; an exotic dancer; a stripper.

Synonyms [edit]

Translations [edit]

one who teases
stripper — see stripper

Anagrams [edit]

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