tease
verb
[ tiːz ]
• make fun of or attempt to provoke (a person or animal) in a playful way.
• "I used to tease her about being so house-proud"
Similar:
make fun of,
poke fun at,
chaff,
make jokes about,
rag,
mock,
laugh at,
guy,
satirize,
be sarcastic about,
deride,
ridicule,
scoff at,
jeer at,
jibe at,
taunt,
bait,
goad,
pick on,
take the mickey out of,
send up,
rib,
josh,
wind up,
have on,
pull someone's leg,
make a monkey of,
goof on,
rag on,
put on,
pull someone's chain,
razz,
fun,
shuck,
poke mullock at,
poke borak at,
sling off at,
chiack,
sledge,
rot,
make sport of,
twit,
quiz,
smoke,
flout at,
rally,
take the piss out of,
• gently pull or comb (tangled wool, hair, etc.) into separate strands.
• "she was teasing out the curls into her usual hairstyle"
tease
noun
• a person who makes fun of someone playfully or unkindly.
• "some think of him as a tease who likes to keep others guessing"
• an act of teasing someone.
• "she couldn't resist a gentle tease"
Origin:
Old English tǣsan (in tease (sense 2 of the verb)), of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch teezen and German dialect zeisen, also to teasel. Sense 1 is a development of the earlier and more serious ‘irritate by annoying actions’ (early 17th century), a figurative use of the word's original sense.
