Antonyms for tease
| Grammar : Verb |
| Spell : teez |
| Phonetic Transcription : tiz |
Definition of tease
Origin :- Old English tæsan "pluck, pull apart" (fibers of wool, flax, etc.), from West Germanic *taisijanan (cf. Danish tæse, Middle Dutch tesen, Dutch tezen "to draw, pull, scratch," Old High German 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 1610s. For similar sense development, see heckle. Hairdressing sense is recorded from 1957.
- verb aggravate, provoke
- Hubertine shrugged her shoulders, and concluded the best thing for her to do was to tease her.
- Extract from : « The Dream » by Emile Zola
- "Be careful, my dear," said Hubertine, continuing to tease her.
- Extract from : « The Dream » by Emile Zola
- The other boys did attempt it, however, simply to tease and annoy the fiery Corsican.
- Extract from : « The Boy Life of Napoleon » by Eugenie Foa
- You must not tease Mr. Maltravers so; Mr. Maltravers has too much to do to come to us.
- Extract from : « Alice, or The Mysteries, Complete » by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
- Then, with infinite patience, you may be able to tease the flame.
- Extract from : « The Forest » by Stewart Edward White
- He was still a little suspicious of his chum's propensity to tease.
- Extract from : « Cap'n Eri » by Joseph Crosby Lincoln
- Tease a thrush, or even a lark, and you will soon be convinced.
- Extract from : « Tales From Two Hemispheres » by Hjalmar Hjorth Boysen
- This set the boys a-laughing, and they began to pull him about and tease him.
- Extract from : « The Fairchild Family » by Mary Martha Sherwood
- This became plain to everybody, even Maria, but did not prevent her beginning to tease.
- Extract from : « Si Klegg, Book 5 (of 6) » by John McElroy
- How sorry I am, dearest Fifine, to tease you with all this, but I cannot help it.
- Extract from : « Sir Jasper Carew » by Charles James Lever
Synonyms for tease
- annoy
- badger
- bait
- banter
- be at
- bedevil
- beleaguer
- bother
- chaff
- devil
- disturb
- dog
- gibe
- give a hard time
- gnaw
- goad
- harass
- harry
- hector
- importune
- jive
- josh
- lead on
- mock
- needle
- nudge
- pester
- pick on
- plague
- put down
- rag
- rally
- razz
- rib
- ride
- ridicule
- roast
- send up
- slam
- snap
- sound
- spoof
- swipe at
- tantalize
- taunt
- torment
- vex
- worry
Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019