tease
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: tēz
ipa: /tiːz/
homophone: teas
homophone: tees
rhymes: -iːz
Forms: form: teases
form: teasing
form: teased
form: teased
form: teaze
form: teize
form: tieze
Etymology: From Middle English tesen, from Old English tǣsan (“to tease”), from Proto-West Germanic *taisijan (“to separate, tug, shred”).
Senses: glosses: To separate the fibres of (a fibrous material).
glosses: To comb (originally with teasels) so that the fibres all lie in one direction.
glosses: To backcomb.
examples: text: 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.... Proper teasing says, in effect, "I know all your little oddities and faults, but as they are part of what makes you special, I find them charming." Taunting, in contrast, makes only the harsh statement, "I have noticed what is wrong with you."
ref: 1998 February 22, Judith Martin, “Tease and sympathy”, in The Washington Post:
text: 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
ref: 2008, Lich King, “Attack of the Wrath of the War of the Death of the Strike of the Sword of the Blood of the Beast”, in Toxic Zombie Onslaught:
synonyms: razz
glosses: To poke fun at, either cruelly or affectionately in a playful way.
examples: text: Not by the force of carnal reason, / But indefatigable teasing.
ref: 1684, Samuel Butler, Hudibras:
text: I am myself, the sweetest temper'd man alive, and hate a teasing temper; and so I tell her a hundred Times a day—
ref: 1777, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for Scandal, I.ii:
text: He[…]suffered them to tease him into acts directly opposed to his strongest inclinations.
ref: 1848, Thomas Macaulay, History of England, volume I, page 76:
text: "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; Mr. Whistler bores me with his monochromatic mud; I don't like dull colours, dull sounds, dull intellects;[…]."
ref: 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter VIII, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
synonyms: ride
glosses: To provoke or disturb; to annoy.
examples: text: 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 to spend a week with his father, if he likes it.
ref: 1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], chapter XIV, in Emma: […], volume I, London: […] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for John Murray, →OCLC, page 260:
glosses: To manipulate or influence the behavior of, especially by repeated acts of irritation.
examples: text: [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——
ref: 1777, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for Scandal, III.i:
glosses: To entice, tempt.
examples: text: My favorite fantasy is being tied down and teased and teased.
ref: 1976 February 7, Rosenjoy, “Sadomasochism: The Theory And The Practice”, in Gay Community News, volume 3, number 32, page 11:
glosses: To deliberately arouse someone sexually with no intention of satisfying that arousal.
examples: text: 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 straightforward Planet Of The Apes remake first teased in Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes.
ref: 2017 July 7, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, “The ambitious War For The Planet Of The Apes ends up surrendering to formula”, in The Onion AV Club:
glosses: To show as forthcoming, in the manner of a teaser.
Derived terms: cocktease
cock tease
cockteaser
eve-tease
retease
tease apart
tease out
teaser