Taunt Meaning
/tɔːnt/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo make fun of (someone); to goad (a person) into responding, often in an aggressive manner.
nounA scornful or mocking remark; a jeer or mockery.
Sentence Examples
Don't taunt him. He's liable to fight back eventually.
The boy continued to taunt his younger brother.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The mean kids would ____ the new student because of his strange accent.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The fans began to ____ the players of the opposing team after they missed another easy goal during the match today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle French tanter (“to tempt, try, provoke”), variant of Old French tempter (“to try”). Doublet of tempt.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"VVith ſcoffes and ſcornes, and contumelious taunts, / In open Market-place produc't they me, / To be a publique ſpectacle to all: / Here, ſayd they, is the Terror of the French, / The Scar-Crovv that affrights our Children ſo."
— 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene vi], page 100, column 1:
"The attacks and the failure to catch the killer created an atmosphere of fear and dismay throughout Yorkshire, and provoked grim taunts to the police at Leeds United football matches such as “Ripper 10, Police nil”"
— 2020 November 13, Duncan Campbell, “Peter Sutcliffe obituary”, in The Guardian:
"the great ships, for want of ſufficient masts, will lose the advantages the taunt masts would procure"
— 1764, Duhamel du Monceau, The Elememts of Naval Architecture:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The mean kids would ____ the new student because of his strange accent.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The fans began to ____ the players of the opposing team after they missed another easy goal during the match today.