- mocking, teasing, quizzical - playfully vexing (especially by ridicule); "his face wore a somewhat quizzical almost impertinent air"- Lawrence Durrell
Antonyms: unplayful, serious, sober (indirect, via playful)
- teasing - arousing sexual desire without intending to satisfy it; "her lazy teasing smile"
Antonym: unseductive (indirect, via seductive)
- annoying, bothersome, galling, irritating, nettlesome, pesky, pestering, pestiferous, plaguy, plaguey, teasing, vexatious, vexing - causing irritation or annoyance; "tapping an annoying rhythm on his glass with his fork"; "aircraft noise is particularly bothersome near the airport"; "found it galling to have to ask permission"; "an irritating delay"; "nettlesome paperwork"; "a pesky mosquito"; "swarms of pestering gnats"; "a plaguey newfangled safety catch"; "a teasing and persistent thought annoyed him"; "a vexatious child"; "it is vexing to have to admit you are wrong"
Antonym: agreeable (indirect, via disagreeable)
- tease, teasing, ribbing - the act of harassing someone playfully or maliciously (especially by ridicule); provoking someone with persistent annoyances; "he ignored their teases"; "his ribbing was gentle but persistent"
--1 is a kind of harassment, molestation
Derived form: verb tease2 - teasing - playful vexation; "the parody was just a form of teasing"
--2 is a kind of play, frolic, romp, gambol, caper
- comb-out, teasing - the act of removing tangles from you hair with a comb
--3 is a kind of comb, combing
Derived form: verb tease9 - comb-out, teasing - the act of removing tangles from you hair with a comb
- tease, badger, pester, bug, beleaguer - annoy persistently; "The children teased the boy because of his stammer"
--1 is one way to torment, rag, bedevil, crucify, dun, frustrate
Sample sentence:Derived forms: noun tease3, noun tease1, noun teaser2
Sam cannot tease Sue
- tease, razz, rag, cod, tantalize, tantalise, bait, taunt, twit, rally, ride - harass with persistent criticism or carping; "The children teased the new teacher"; "Don't ride me so hard over my failure"; "His fellow workers razzed him when he wore a jacket and tie"
--2 is one way to mock, bemock
Sample sentence:Derived forms: noun tease3, noun tease1, noun teaser2, noun teasing1
Somebody ----s somebody
- tease - to arouse hope, desire, or curiosity without satisfying them; "The advertisement is intended to tease the customers"; "She has a way of teasing men with her flirtatious behavior"
--3 is one way to manipulate, keep in line, control
Sample sentence:Derived form: noun tease2
Somebody ----s somebody
- tease - tear into pieces; "tease tissue for microscopic examinations"
--4 is one way to shred, tear up, rip up
Sample sentence:
Somebody ----s something
- tease - raise the nap of (fabrics)
--5 is one way to change surface
Sample sentence:
Somebody ----s something
- tease, tease apart, loosen - disentangle and raise the fibers of; "tease wool"
--6 is one way to disentangle, unsnarl, straighten out
Sample sentence:Derived forms: noun teaser7, noun teaser1
Somebody ----s something
- tease, card - separate the fibers of; "tease wool"
--7 is one way to separate
Sample sentences:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
- tease - mock or make fun of playfully; "the flirting man teased the young woman"
--8 is one way to ridicule, roast, guy, blackguard, laugh at, jest at, rib, make fun, poke fun
Sample sentences:Derived forms: noun tease2, noun teaser2
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s somebody
- tease, fluff - ruffle (one's hair) by combing towards the ends towards the scalp, for a full effect
--9 is one way to comb, comb out, disentangle
Sample sentence:Derived form: noun teasing3
They tease their hair
- tease - raise the nap of (fabrics)