TAUNT

twit, taunt, taunting

(noun) aggravation by deriding or mocking or criticizing

tease, razz, rag, cod, tantalize, tantalise, bait, taunt, twit, rally, ride

(verb) 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”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology 1

Verb

taunt (third-person singular simple present taunts, present participle taunting, simple past and past participle taunted)

to make fun of (someone); to goad (a person) into responding, often in an aggressive manner.

Noun

taunt (plural taunts)

A scornful or mocking remark; a jeer or mockery

Etymology 2

Adjective

taunt (comparative more taunt, superlative most taunt)

(nautical) Very high or tall.

Source: Wiktionary


Taunt, a. Etym: [Cf. OF. tant so great, F. tant so much, L. tantus of such size, so great, so much.] (Naut.)

Definition: Very high or tall; as, a ship with taunt masts. Totten.

Taunt, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Taunted; p. pr. & vb. n. Taunting.] Etym: [Earlier, to tease; probably fr. OF. tanter to tempt, to try, for tenter. See Tempt.]

Definition: To reproach with severe or insulting words; to revile; to upbraid; to jeer at; to flout. When I had at my pleasure taunted her. Shak.

Syn.

– To deride; ridicule; mock; jeer; flout; revile. See Deride.

Taunt, n.

Definition: Upbraiding language; bitter or sarcastic reproach; insulting invective. With scoffs, and scorns, and contemelious taunts. Shak. With sacrilegious taunt and impious jest. Prior.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

27 May 2025

DIRECTIONALITY

(noun) the property of being directional or maintaining a direction; “the directionality of written English is from left to right”


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Coffee Trivia

An article published in Harvard Men’s Health Watch in 2012 shows heavy coffee drinkers live longer. The researchers examined data from 400,000 people and found out that men who drank six or more coffee cups per day had a 10% lower death rate.

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