tease

/tiːz/

//tiːz// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"tease" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“tease” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,253. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,253
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To separate the fibres of (a fibrous material).

Corpus desk

Index EN-tease · tease · English

tease · rank #13,253 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,253
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH surreal

Nearest frequency peer: surreal (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “tease”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “tease” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

tease vs tee
60% similar
tease vs tse
60% similar
tease vs test
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for tease
PropertyValue
Headwordtease
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/tiːz/
Letters5
Frequency rank#13,253
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “tease”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).teaselands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “surreal” (#13,252), “tendencies” (#13,254), “Tiffany” (#13,255). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “tease” is #13,253. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around tease (IPA /tiːz/), averb. Corpus frequency is #13,253 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for tease, with forms such as "etase", "taese", and "teaes". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "tee", "tse", "test", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English tesen, from Old English tǣsan (“to tease”), from Proto-West Germanic *taisijan (“to separate, tug, shred”). The correct English form is tease, spelled T-E-A-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To separate the fibres of (a fibrous material).
  2. 2
    To comb (originally with teasels) so that the fibres all lie in one direction.
  3. 3
    To backcomb.
  4. 4
    To poke fun at, either cruelly or affectionately in a playful way.
  5. 5
    To provoke or disturb; to annoy.
  6. 6
    To manipulate or influence the behavior of, especially by repeated acts of irritation.
  7. 7
    To entice, tempt.
  8. 8
    To deliberately arouse someone sexually with no intention of satisfying that arousal.
  9. 9
    To show as forthcoming, in the manner of a teaser.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how tease appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The difference between teasing and taunting is like the difference between kissing and spitting. The ingredients are the same; it is the emotion that determines whether it is pleasing or repellent.... Proper teasing says, in effect, "I know all your little oddities and faults, but as they are part of what makes you special, I find them charming." Taunting…
  2. The beast in the past has done horrible stuff / And his victims were left quite displeased / No one knows what he's so angry about / Maybe once in third grade he was teased

Etymology

From Middle English tesen, from Old English tǣsan (“to tease”), from Proto-West Germanic *taisijan (“to separate, tug, shred”).

This word in other languages

cardar(Español)carder(Français)kämmen(Deutsch)cardar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • etase
  • taese
  • teaes
  • teasse
  • tesae
  • ttease

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of tease - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

etase2taese2teaes2teasse1tesae2ttease1
Edit distance from "tease"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "tease"?
"tease" is spelled T-E-A-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /tiːz/.
What does "tease" mean?
As a verb, "tease" means: To separate the fibres of (a fibrous material).
What words are commonly confused with "tease"?
"tease" is commonly confused with "tee", "tse", "test". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tease"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tease" is /tiːz/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "tease"?
From Middle English tesen, from Old English tǣsan (“to tease”), from Proto-West Germanic *taisijan (“to separate, tug, shred”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "tease", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Sacks#13,233raced#13,221bluff#13,288PRATT#13,217

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

suns6 variantsspec6 variantsRoth6 variantsrods6 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list