Teazled

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. Having worked the fibers of cloth to create a rough, raised texture for softness or appearance ; having been provoked or teased in a playful or mocking manner ; describing a state of being frustrated or perplexed by persistent irritation or confusion
2. Referring to fabric fibers that have been brushed to create a fuzzy surface ; subjected to lighthearted ridicule or annoyance by another ; characterized by feelings of vexation caused by ongoing teasing or bother
3. Pertaining to textile treated to loosen and fluff the threads for a plush effect ; experiencing teasing through jokes or taunts ; feeling mentally unsettled or annoyed due to repeated provocation

Etymology: "Teazled" is the past tense and past participle of "teazle," so its story is really the story of the verb it comes from. The verb "teazle" grows from the noun "teasel," the spiny plant whose dried flower heads were once used to raise the nap on woollen cloth. Cloth workers drew the teasels across the fabric so that the loose fibres stood up into a soft, rough surface, and the verb took its meaning from that task. The plant's own name sits behind that craft. Teasels were prized for this work because their hooked bracts could catch and lift fibres without tearing them, and the process of teasing cloth in this way gave the verb its original sense of combing or pulling fibres apart. The later senses, to tease someone or to vex them with persistent irritation, grew from that same image of pulling and pricking at something until it bristles.

Synonyms: teased, ruffled, frizzed, fluffed, brushed

Antonyms: smoothed, flattened, untangled, combed, ironed