Meaning & use
you are a tease
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Meaning
phrasefixed phraseinformal
A playful way to say someone is teasing you or being flirtatious without meaning it seriously.
Grammar: Used as a complete sentence addressed to one person. To a group, say 'You are all teases'.
Patterns
- you are a tease
- someone is a tease
You keep saying you'll tell me the secret but you never do — you are a tease!
He winked and walked away without giving me his number; he's a tease.
Don't be a tease; show me the photo you just took.
Common combinations
- a bit of a tease
- She's a bit of a tease, always promising treats and then forgetting.
- such a tease
- You're such a tease — you know I want that last cookie.
- don't be a tease
- Don't be a tease; just tell me what happened.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
Commonly confused: you are a tease or tease?
you are a tease vs tease
As a verb, 'tease' means to make fun of someone; the phrase 'you are a tease' uses the noun form.
Practice
Choose the best response: 'You promised to show me the video but you keep hiding your phone. You ___!'
Choose one answer.
'You are a tease' fits as a playful accusation. 'Are teasing me' is also grammatical but means the action is happening now, not describing the person's character; 'tease' lacks a subject form here; 'are teased' means someone else teases you.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “you are a tease”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.