EN

Synonyms for tease

45 synonyms
6 meanings

verb
noun

Most common

harass taunt pester tantalize card loosen fluff

Synonyms by meaning

Verb

1. Pester

pester, taunt, tantalize, tantalise UK, annoy, bother, harass, provoke, vex, bait, molest, ride, torment, push, tempt, badger, mock, worry, heckle, irritate, make sport of, nag, irk

2. Razz — to poke fun at, either cruelly or affectionately in a playful way

razz informal, chaff

Other

kid, loosen, fluff, card, coax dated, forgab dated

Noun

1. Flirt

flirt, minx, vamp, coquette, vamper

2. Cock tease — one who deliberately arouses others (usually men) sexually with no intention of satisfying that arousal

prick teaser, cock teaser, cock tease vulgar slang

3. Teaser

teaser, annoyer, vexer

4. Ribbing

ribbing, tantalization, tantalisation UK

Other

back comb, needle

Definitions

v. 1
To poke fun at, either cruelly or affectionately in a playful way.
v. 2
To separate the fibres of (a fibrous material).
n. 1
One who deliberately arouses others (usually men) sexually with no intention of satisfying that arousal.
n. 2
One who teases.

Related words

Word family: teaser
Phrases: cock tease tease out tease apart clit tease prick tease

Forms

Plural: teases → flirts, minxes, vamps, coquettes…
Past participle: teased
e.g. teased → pestered, taunted, tantalized, annoyed…

Choose the right word

or Tease?

To tease is to give some slight and perhaps playful annoyance.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

harass Skura wasn't the only girl that Yanni would harass.
taunt The boy continued to taunt his younger brother.
pester We will pester him with heaps of questions.
card The time has come for you to play your trump card.
loosen Loosen the bottle cap to prevent pressure buildup.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
tease		rising
harass		rising
taunt		rising
pester		rising
tantalize		rising
card		steady

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters: kid¹, nag¹, vex¹, irk¹
4 letters: card¹, ride¹, push¹, bait¹, mock¹, coax¹, vamp¹, minx, razz
5 letters: worry², annoy², flirt¹, tempt¹, fluff¹, taunt¹, chaff¹, vexer
6 letters: bother², needle², badger², teaser², loosen², harass², molest², pester², heckle², forgab, vamper
7 letters: provoke², torment², ribbing², annoyer
8 letters: irritate³, coquette
9 letters: tantalize³, tantalise
13 letters: tantalization, tantalisation

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (worry² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: taquiner
Deutsch: necken