tease Definition

tease
verb teased, teasing

1. To annoy or irritate someone deliberately or unkindly.

Thesaurus: goad, provoke, irritate, annoy, vex, plague, torment.
2. To laugh at or make fun of someone playfully or annoyingly.

Thesaurus: taunt, mock, ridicule, rib (slang).
3. To persuade them to agree to it, especially by continual coaxing.

Form: tease someone into something (usually)
4. To arouse someone sexually without satisfying that desire.

Thesaurus: tantalize, excite, arouse, provoke.
5. To comb (wool, flax or hair, etc) to remove tangles and open out the fibres.
6. To raise a nap on (cloth) by scratching or brushing, especially with teasels.
7. To backcomb (hair).

noun

1. Someone or something that teases.
2. An act of teasing.

Etymology: Anglo-Saxon tæsan to card.

Phrasal Verb: tease something out

To separate it from something in which it is entangled.To clarify (an obscure point) by discussion, etc.