teased; teasing
1
a
: to make fun of : kid
b
: to disturb or annoy by persistent irritating or provoking especially in a petty or mischievous way
c
: to annoy with petty persistent requests : pester
also
: to obtain by repeated coaxing
d
: to persuade to acquiesce especially by persistent small efforts : coax
e
: to manipulate or influence as if by teasing
2
: to comb (hair) by taking hold of a strand and pushing the short hairs toward the scalp with the comb
3
: to tantalize especially by arousing desire or curiosity often without intending to satisfy it
4
a
: to disentangle and lay parallel by combing or carding
tease wool
b
: teasel
5
: to tear in pieces
especially
: to shred (a tissue or specimen) for microscopic examination
Examples of tease in a Sentence
Verb
He and his wife enjoy teasing each other about their different tastes in music.
The other children teased her because she was wearing braces.
He was always teased by his brother about being short.
Oh, don't get so angry. I was just teasing!
The boy's mother told him to stop teasing the dog.
Noun
a pretty girl who has the reputation of being a bit of a tease
The lower rate is just a tease to attract new customers.
Recent Examples on the Web
Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Oct. 2025
The New Jersey native also teased some new music on the way after some prying from Hudson.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 28 Oct. 2025
Kansas City Star, 26 Oct. 2025
Season one may only be six episodes, but it’s padded out with meandering subplots, vague teases for a second-season mystery, and one overly long and slow-motion-dependent scene at a nightclub.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tease
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Verb
Other locations previously teased by Netflix include Little Garden, Whiskey Peak, Reverse Mountain, and Loguetown.
—Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Oct. 2025
The New Jersey native also teased some new music on the way after some prying from Hudson.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 28 Oct. 2025
Noun
The Kansas fallout is a zoomed-out picture, illustrating a program that has made significant strides since a winless 2020 season but hasn’t advanced past the tease of something more.
—Kansas City Star, 26 Oct. 2025
Season one may only be six episodes, but it’s padded out with meandering subplots, vague teases for a second-season mystery, and one overly long and slow-motion-dependent scene at a nightclub.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tease
Cite this Entry
“Tease.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tease. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tease
1 of 2 verb
teased; teasing
1
: to untangle and lay parallel by combing or carding
tease wool
teaser
noun
tease
2 of 2 noun1
a
: the act of teasing
b
: the state of being teased
2
: one that teases
Medical Definition
tease
transitive verb
teased; teasing
: to tear in pieces
especially
: to shred (a tissue or specimen) for microscopic examination
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