tease

tease¹ [ti:z] v

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

1¦(laugh)¦

2¦(annoy an animal)¦

3¦(sex)¦

4¦(hair)¦

Phrasal verbs

　tease something<=>out

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

[: Old English; Origin: tAsan]

1.) ¦(LAUGH)¦ [I and T]

to laugh at someone and make jokes in order to have fun by embarrassing them, either in a friendly way or in an unkind way

▪ Don't get upset. I was only teasing .

▪ He used to tease her mercilessly .

tease sb about sth

▪ She used to tease me about my hair.

2.) ¦(ANNOY AN ANIMAL)¦ [T]

to deliberately annoy an animal

▪ Stop teasing the cat!

3.) ¦(SEX)¦ [I and T]

to deliberately make someone sexually excited without intending to have sex with them, in a way that seems unkind

4.) ¦(HAIR)¦ [T]

AmE to comb your hair in the opposite direction to which it grows, so that it looks thicker

British Equivalent: backcomb

tease out [tease sth<=>out] phr v

1.) to succeed in learning information that is hidden, or that someone does not want to tell you

tease something<=>out of

▪ I finally managed to tease the truth out of her.

2.) to gently move hairs or threads that are stuck together so that they become loose or straight again

▪ She combed her hair, gently teasing out the knots.

tease ²

tease² n informal

1.) someone who enjoys making jokes at people, and embarrassing them, especially in a friendly way

▪ Don't take any notice of Joe - he's a big tease.

2.) something that you say or do as a joke, to tease someone

▪ I'm sorry, it was only a tease.

3.) someone who deliberately makes you sexually excited, but has no intention of having sex with you