tease
verb /tiːz/
/tiːz/
Verb Forms
Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they tease | /tiːz/ /tiːz/ |
| he / she / it teases | /ˈtiːzɪz/ /ˈtiːzɪz/ |
| past simple teased | /tiːzd/ /tiːzd/ |
| past participle teased | /tiːzd/ /tiːzd/ |
| -ing form teasing | /ˈtiːzɪŋ/ /ˈtiːzɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive, transitive] to laugh at somebody and make jokes about them, either in a friendly way or in order to annoy them or make them embarrassed
- Don't get upset—I was only teasing.
- tease somebody I used to get teased about my name.
- tease (somebody) + speech ‘You're not scared, are you?’ she teased him.
Extra ExamplesTopics Feelingsb2- His friends used to tease him about his clothes.
- They teased her mercilessly with remarks about her weight.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- mercilessly
- playfully
- a little
- …
- used to
- about
- with
- be just teasing
- be only teasing
- [transitive] tease something to annoy an animal, especially by touching it, pulling its tail, etc.
- [intransitive, transitive] tease (somebody) (disapproving) to make somebody sexually excited, especially when you do not intend to have sex with them
- She teased the men with an expression that was both innocent and knowing.
- [transitive] tease somebody (with something) to make somebody want something or become excited about something by showing or offering them just a small part of it; to make somebody want more of something
- Spring is here and we have already been teased with a glimpse of summer.
- There are tempting menus to tease the taste buds.
- tease something He teased an appearance on tonight's show with a Twitter message.
- [transitive] tease something (+ adv./prep.) to pull something gently apart into separate pieces
- to tease wool into strands
- (North American English) (British English backcomb)[transitive] tease something to comb your hair in the opposite direction to the way it grows so that it looks thickerTopics Appearancec2
Word OriginOld English tǣsan (in sense (4) of the verb), of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch teezen and German dialect zeisen, also to teasel. Senses 1 to 3 are a development of the earlier and more serious ‘irritate by annoying actions’ (early 17th cent.), a figurative use of the word's original sense.