Tease
Tease (tēz) , transitive verb
[Anglo-Saxon t{not transcribed}san to pluck, tease; akin to OD. teesen, Middle High German zeisen, Danish tase, tasse. r58. Compare Touse.]
1.
To comb or card, as wool or flax.
Teasing matted wool.
2.
To stratch, as cloth, for the purpose of raising a nap; teasel.
3.
(Anatomy) To tear or separate into minute shreds, as with needles or similar instruments.
4.
To vex with importunity or impertinence; to harass, annoy, disturb, or irritate by petty requests, or by jests and raillery; to plague. — Cowper
He... suffered them to tease him into acts directly opposed to his strongest inclinations.
Not by the force of carnal reason,
But indefatigable teasing.
In disappointments, where the affections have been strongly placed, and the expectations sanguine, particularly where the agency of others is concerned, sorrow may degenerate into vexation and chagrin.
Collocations (1)
Tease tenon (Joinery) , a long tenon at the top of a post to receive two beams crossing each other one above the other.
Tease , noun
One who teases or plagues. [Colloquial]