► laugh at to laugh in an unkind way that makes someone feel bad about himself or herself:
One boy started to cry, and some of the others laughed at him, calling him a crybaby.They never said anything to her, but she knew they laughed at her behind her back.► make fun of to laugh at someone and make unkind jokes about him or her:
People sometimes make fun of me because I’m different, but I don’t let it bother me.► tease to make jokes about someone in a way that is not very insulting but that is annoying:
My brothers teased me constantly about being so tall, asking me how the weather was up there or calling me “Stretch.”➔ People often tease in a way that is deliberately unkind, but sometimes you can tease people in a funny way that is not meant to hurt their feelings: “It’s my birthday today!” said the little girl. “Oh! Let’s see, you must be 52 this year, right?” said her dad, teasing her.► jeer to laugh and shout rude things at someone in order to show that you do not respect him or her:
As the politician spoke, people in the crowd began to jeer at him.► ridicule (formal) to make jokes about someone or something in a way that makes him, her, or it seem stupid:
Doctors have ridiculed the treatment, saying that it won’t work and that patients might as well try magic.► mock to make fun of someone unkindly by copying the way he or she speaks or behaves:
She was from the South, and when she moved to New York some of the kids mocked her accent.