tease

CEFRB1

/tiːz/

verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To make fun of someone in a playful or unkind way.

  2. 02

    verb

    To annoy someone by making them wait or by not revealing something.

Examples

  • My mom used to tease me all the time about it.

  • Tom likes to tease Mary.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To backcomb.

  2. To comb (originally with teasels) so that the fibres all lie in one direction.

  3. To separate the fibres of (a fibrous material).

More examples

In context

  • You shouldn't tease him.

  • 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

  • My favorite fantasy is being tied down and teased and teased.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The older brother would blank his little sister until she started crying.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

From Middle English tesen, from Old English tǣsan (“to tease”), from Proto-West Germanic *taisijan (“to separate, tug, shred”).