noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   Any of several plants of the genus Dipsacus.
2. 2
   any of several herbs of the genus Dipsacus native to the Old World having flower heads surrounded by spiny bracts wordnet
3. 3
   The dried fruiting head of the fuller's teasel, Dipsacus sativa, used for teasing or carding cloth.
4. 4
   Any contrivance intended as a substitute for teasels in dressing cloth.

Verb

1. 1
   To raise the nap on cloth; to tease; to card. archaic

Synonyms

All synonyms

huttonweedteasleteazel

Etymology

From Middle English tasel, tesel, from Old English tǣsel, tǣsl, from Proto-West Germanic *taisilu.

Related phrases

teasel gourdwild teaselfuller's teasel

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.