Taunted

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Made fun of someone in a hurtful or provoking way
2. Ridiculed or provoked someone to elicit a reaction
3. Teased someone in a way intended to annoy or challenge

Etymology: "Taunted" is the past tense of "taunt," and the verb's origin is tied to a surprisingly modest word for "sound." It appears in English in the 1500s, but its roots lie in the Middle French "tant," meaning "so much" or "tant" used in phrases like "tant pour tant" (a tit-for-tat exchange). The more reliable and commonly accepted story is that "taunt" came into English from Middle French "tant" and was shaped by the sense of mocking someone with words, rather than by any physical contest. Because "taunt" is a borrowed verb with an uncertain path, the strongest documented fact is its date: it entered English around the 16th century, when writers used it for scornful speech aimed at provoking a reaction. Its earliest senses leaned toward reproach and rebuke, and the idea of deliberately goading someone to anger developed from there. The past tense "taunted" simply adds the regular "-ed" ending, so it describes an action of taunting completed in the past.

Synonyms: mocked, ridiculed, jeered, teased, derided

Antonyms: complimented, praised, supported