tease (tēz)

v., teased, teas·ing, teas·es.

v.tr.

1. To annoy or pester; vex.
2. To make fun of; mock playfully.
3. To arouse hope, desire, or curiosity in without affording satisfaction.
4. 1. To urge persistently; coax: teasing their mother for more candy.
   2. To gain by persistent coaxing: "the New York editor who could tease great books from the unpromising woolly jumble of an author's first draft" (Ian Jack).
   3. To deal with or have an effect on as if by teasing.
5. To cut (tissue, for example) into pieces for examination.
6. To disentangle and dress the fibers of (wool, for example).
7. To raise the nap of (cloth) by dressing, as with a fuller's teasel.
8. To ruffle (the hair) by combing from the ends toward the scalp for an airy, full effect.

v.intr.
To annoy or make fun of someone persistently.

n.

1. 1. The act of teasing.
   2. The state of being teased.
2. One that teases, as:
   1. One given to playful mocking.
   2. A woman who behaves like a coquette.
   3. A preliminary remark or act intended to whet the curiosity.

phrasal verb:

tease out

1. To get by or as if by untangling or releasing with a pointed tool or device: "It takes a carefully trained expert to tease out the truth" (Arthur Green).

[Middle English tesen, to comb apart, from Old English tǣsan.]

teasingly teas'ing·ly adv.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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