tease
/tiːz/verb, noun
tease is spelled T-E-A-S-E: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 3.9 times per million words in written English, the 13,127th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, tease means “To separate the fibres of (a fibrous material)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in tease?
| Letters | 5: T-E-A-S-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.9 times per million words; the 13,127th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is tease?
Tease appears 3.9 times per million words in written English, the 13,127th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce tease?
- /tiːz/
Tease has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-tease.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with tease
Sounds like: tees (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of tease
- teases present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- teasing participle, present
- teased participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tease mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To separate the fibres of (a fibrous material).
- 2
To comb (originally with teasels) so that the fibres all lie in one direction.
- 3
To backcomb.
- 4
To poke fun at, either cruelly or affectionately in a playful way.
- 5
To provoke or disturb; to annoy.
- 6
To manipulate or influence the behavior of, especially by repeated acts of irritation.
- 7
To entice, tempt.
- 8
To deliberately arouse someone sexually with no intention of satisfying that arousal.
noun
- 1
One who teases.
- 2
A single act of teasing.
- 3
One who deliberately arouses others (usually men) sexually with no intention of satisfying that arousal.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tease in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | carder , taquiner |
| Portuguese | cardar , caçoar, tirar sarro, zombar , pentear , provocar |
| Spanish | cardar, peinar , burlarse de, molestar, tomar el pelo , camelador |
| German | necken, hänseln, aufziehen, verarschen , kämmen, hecheln |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does tease come from?
From Middle English tesen, from Old English tǣsan (“to tease”), from Proto-West Germanic *taisijan (“to separate, tug, shred”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).