ridicule vs tease

ridicule

verb
  • to criticize or disapprove of someone or something through scornful jocularity; to make fun of 

noun
  • An object of sport or laughter; a laughing stock. 

  • The quality of being ridiculous; ridiculousness. 

  • derision; mocking or humiliating words or behaviour 

  • A small woman's handbag; a reticule. 

tease

verb
  • To provoke or disturb; to annoy. 

  • To separate the fibres of (a fibrous material). 

  • To poke fun at, either cruelly or affectionately. 

  • To entice, tempt. 

  • To show as forthcoming, in the manner of a teaser. 

  • To comb (originally with teasels) so that the fibres all lie in one direction. 

  • To manipulate or influence the behavior of, especially by repeated acts of irritation. 

  • To backcomb. 

noun
  • A single act of teasing. 

  • One who teases. 

  • One who deliberately arouses others (usually men) sexually with no intention of satisfying that arousal. 

How often have the words ridicule and tease occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )