tease vs worry

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. 

worry

verb
  • To harass; to irritate or distress. 

  • To touch repeatedly, to fiddle with. 

  • To be troubled; to give way to mental anxiety or doubt. 

  • To seize or shake by the throat, especially of a dog or wolf. 

  • Disturb the peace of mind of; afflict with mental agitation or distress. 

noun
  • A strong feeling of anxiety. 

  • An instance or cause of such a feeling. 

  • A person who causes worry. 

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