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tease - 7 dictionary results

tease

[teez]

verb, teased, teas⋅ing, noun

Use tease in a Sentence

–verb (used with object)

1.	to irritate or provoke with persistent petty distractions, trifling raillery, or other annoyance, often in sport.

2.	to pull apart or separate the adhering fibers of (wool or the like), as in combing or carding; comb or card, as wool; shred.

3.	to ruffle (the hair) by holding it at the ends and combing toward the scalp so as to give body to a hairdo.

4.	to raise a nap on (cloth) with teasels; teasel.

5.	Also, teaser. Television Slang. a short scene or highlight shown at the beginning of a film or television show to attract the audience's attention.

–verb (used without object)

6.	to provoke or disturb a person or animal by importunity or persistent petty annoyances.

–noun

7.	a person who teases or annoys.

8.	the act of teasing or the state of being teased.

Origin:
bef. 1000; ME tesen (v.), OE tǣsan to pull, tear, comb; c. MLG tesen, OHG zeisan to pluck

Related forms:

teas⋅a⋅ble, adjective

teas⋅a⋅ble⋅ness, noun

teas⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. trouble, disturb, vex; harass. See bother.

Antonyms:
1. mollify.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To tease

tease (tēz)

v. teased, teas·ing, teas·es

v. tr.

To annoy or pester; vex.
To make fun of; mock playfully.
To arouse hope, desire, or curiosity in without affording satisfaction.
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.
To cut (tissue, for example) into pieces for examination.
To disentangle and dress the fibers of (wool, for example).
To raise the nap of (cloth) by dressing, as with a fuller's teasel.
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. The act of teasing.
2. The state of being teased.
3. One given to playful mocking.
4. A woman who behaves like a coquette.
5. A preliminary remark or act intended to whet the curiosity.
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(s):
tease outTo 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.]
teas'ing·ly adv.

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

Tease\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Teased; p. pr. & vb. n. Teasing.] [AS. t?san to pluck, tease; akin to OD. teesen, MHG. zeisen, Dan. t[ae]se, t[ae]sse. [root]58. Cf. Touse.]

1. To comb or card, as wool or flax. "Teasing matted wool." --Wordsworth.

2. To stratch, as cloth, for the purpose of raising a nap; teasel.

3. (Anat.) To tear or separate into minute shreds, as with needles or similar instruments.

4. To vex with importunity or impertinence; to harass, annoy, disturb, or irritate by petty requests, or by jests and raillery; to plague. --Cowper.

He . . . suffered them to tease him into acts directly opposed to his strongest inclinations. --Macaulay.

Syn: To vex; harass: annoy; disturb; irritate; plague; torment; mortify; tantalize; chagrin.

Usage: Tease, Vex. To tease is literally to pull or scratch, and implies a prolonged annoyance in respect to little things, which is often more irritating, and harder to bear, than severe pain. Vex meant originally to seize and bear away hither and thither, and hence, to disturb; as, to vex the ocean with storms. This sense of the term now rarely occurs; but vex is still a stronger word than tease, denoting the disturbance or anger created by minor provocations, losses, disappointments, etc. We are teased by the buzzing of a fly in our eyes; we are vexed by the carelessness or stupidity of our servants.

Not by the force of carnal reason, But indefatigable teasing. --Hudibras.

In disappointments, where the affections have been strongly placed, and the expectations sanguine, particularly where the agency of others is concerned, sorrow may degenerate into vexation and chagrin. --Cogan.

Tease tenon (Joinery), a long tenon at the top of a post to receive two beams crossing each other one above the other.

Tease

Tease\, n. One who teases or plagues. [Colloq.]

Language Translation for : tease

Spanish: molestar, irritar; provocar, picar,

German: necken,

Japanese: いじめる

More Translations »

tease

O.E. tæsan "pluck, pull apart" (fibers of wool, flax, etc.), from W.Gmc. *taisijanan (cf. Dan. tæse, M.Du. tesen, Du. tezen "to draw, pull, scratch," O.H.G. zeisan "to tease, pick wool"). The original sense is of running thorns through wool or flax to separate, shred, or card the fibers. The figurative sense of "vex, worry, annoy" emerged 1619. For similar sense development, see heckle. Hairdressing sense is recorded from 1957. Noun meaning "one who teases" is first recorded 1852; specifically as short for cock-teaser it was in use by 1976. Teaser "short sample, introductory advertisement" is attested from 1934.

Main Entry: tease
Pronunciation: 'tEz
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: teased; teas·ing
: to tear in pieces;especially : to shred (a tissue or specimen) for microscopic examination

tease (tēz)
v. teased, teas·ing, teas·es
To separate the structural parts of a tissue, as with a needle, in order to prepare it for microscopic examination.

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