tease.
To separate the fibres of (a fibrous material).
Meaning & usage
To separate the fibres of (a fibrous material).
To comb (originally with teasels) so that the fibres all lie in one direction.
To backcomb.
To poke fun at, either cruelly or affectionately in a playful way.
To provoke or disturb; to annoy.
To manipulate or influence the behavior of, especially by repeated acts of irritation.
To entice, tempt.
To deliberately arouse someone sexually with no intention of satisfying that arousal.
To show as forthcoming, in the manner of a teaser.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English tesen, from Old English tǣsan (“to tease”), from Proto-West Germanic *taisijan (“to separate, tug, shred”).
One who teases.
A single act of teasing.
One who deliberately arouses others (usually men) sexually with no intention of satisfying that arousal.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English tesen, from Old English tǣsan (“to tease”), from Proto-West Germanic *taisijan (“to separate, tug, shred”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.