tease out
Meaning(s)
1. gradually or carefully discover or obtain something despite difficulty
Popularity
Medium
Professional
Medium
Social
How to Memorize
tease out the truth/details/information
Analysis
To 'tease out something' is a phrasal verb meaning to try to obtain information or to understand something which is not clear. When you 'tease out a solution' or 'tease out a problem' it means you find a solution even though it is difficult. To tease out something can also mean to separate something gradually, such as a knot in your hair, tangles or something which is stuck together.
Social Examples (Advance)
- Tom didn't want anyone to know the date of his wedding just yet, but through clever questioning, I managed to tease it out of him.
- Janet kept insisting that she hadn't done anything wrong, but Gary wouldn't let it go, and teased the truth out of her in the end.
Professional Examples (Advance)
- The report I was handed was so long and poorly written that it took me a long time to tease out the relevant details.
- In his role as mediator, Luke was tasked with teasing out a solution to the ongoing industrial dispute. He warned that it could take quite some time.