tease
verbVerb Forms
Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they tease | |
| he / she / it teases | |
| past simple teased | |
| past participle teased | |
| -ing form teasing |
- [intransitive, transitive]
to laugh at somebody and make jokes about them, either in a friendly way or in order to annoy them or make them embarrassed 取笑；戏弄；揶揄；寻开心 Don't get upset—I was only teasing. 别不高兴，我只是在逗你玩。 - tease somebody
I used to get teased about my name. 过去别人总拿我的名字开玩笑。 - tease (somebody) + speech
‘You're not scared, are you?’ she teased him. “你不害怕，是吗，”。她取笑他。
Extra ExamplesTopics Feelingsb2His friends used to tease him about his clothes. 他的朋友过去常常笑话他的衣着。 They teased her mercilessly with remarks about her weight. 他们嘲笑她肥胖，嘴上一点儿也不留情。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- mercilessly
- playfully
- a little
- …
- used to
- about
- with
- be just teasing
- be only teasing
- [transitive] tease something
to annoy an animal, especially by touching it, pulling its tail, etc. 招惹，逗弄（动物） - [intransitive, transitive] tease (somebody) (disapproving)
to make somebody sexually excited, especially when you do not intend to have sex with them 挑逗，撩拨（异性） She teased the men with an expression that was both innocent and knowing. 她带着一种既天真又世故的表情挑逗那些男人。
- [transitive] tease somebody (with something)
to make somebody want something or become excited about something by showing or offering them just a small part of it; to make somebody want more of something （用一小部分）逗惹，刺激；使想要更多 Spring is here and we have already been teased with a glimpse of summer. 春天来了，我们已经迫不及待地想要一睹夏日的风采。 There are tempting menus to tease the taste buds. 有挑逗味蕾的诱人的菜单。 - tease something
He teased an appearance on tonight's show with a Twitter message. 他用推特信息戏弄了今晚的节目。
- [transitive] tease something (+ adv./prep.)
to pull something gently apart into separate pieces 梳理 to tease wool into strands 把羊毛梳成缕
- (North American English) (British English backcomb)[transitive] tease something
to comb your hair in the opposite direction to the way it grows so that it looks thicker 倒梳（头发）使之蓬起
Word OriginOld English tǣsan (in sense (4) of the verb), of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch teezen and German dialect zeisen, also to teasel. Senses 1 to 3 are a development of the earlier and more serious ‘irritate by annoying actions’ (early 17th cent.), a figurative use of the word's original sense.