TEASES
Noun
teases
plural of tease
Anagrams
• easest
Source: Wiktionary
TEASE
Tease, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Teased; p. pr. & vb. n. Teasing.] Etym:
[AS. t to pluck, tease; akin to OD. teesen, MHG. zeisen, Dan. tæse,
tæsse. *58. Cf. Touse.]
1. To comb or card, as wool or flax. "Teasing matted wool."
Wordsworth.
2. To stratch, as cloth, for the purpose of raising a nap; teasel.
3. (Anat.)
Definition: To tear or separate into minute shreds, as with needles or
similar instruments.
4. To vex with importunity or impertinence; to harass, annoy,
disturb, or irritate by petty requests, or by jests and raillery; to
plague. Cowper.
He . . . suffered them to tease him into acts directly opposed to his
strongest inclinations. Macaulay.
Syn.
– To vex; harass: annoy; disturb; irritate; plague; torment;
mortify; tantalize; chagrin.
– Tease, Vex. To tease is literally to pull or scratch, and implies
a prolonged annoyance in respect to little things, which is often
more irritating, and harder to bear, than severe pain. Vex meant
originally to seize and bear away hither and thither, and hence, to
disturb; as, to vex the ocean with storms. This sense of the term now
rarely occurs; but vex is still a stronger word than tease, denoting
the disturbance or anger created by minor provocations, losses,
disappointments, etc. We are teased by the buzzing of a fly in our
eyes; we are vexed by the carelessness or stupidity of our servants.
Not by the force of carnal reason, But indefatigable teasing.
Hudibras.
In disappointments, where the affections have been strongly placed,
and the expectations sanguine, particularly where the agency of
others is concerned, sorrow may degenerate into vexation and chagrin.
Cogan.
Tease tenon (Joinery), a long tenon at the top of a post to receive
two beams crossing each other one above the other.
Tease, n.
Definition: One who teases or plagues. [Colloq.]
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition