A person who repeatedly makes fun of others might be called a teaser, mocker, or taunter. If the behavior is persistent, targeted, and harmful, bully may be more accurate. For playful joking between willing participants, stronger labels such as bully or mean-spirited are usually inappropriate.
Choose the Term by the Kind of Mockery
- Light teasing: Teaser
- Ridiculing someone: Mocker
- Provoking or insulting: Taunter
- Repeated harmful behavior: Bully
- Public interruption: Heckler
Teaser
A broad term for someone who jokes about or pokes fun at others. It can be playful or irritating depending on context.
Example: “He’s a constant teaser, but his friends know he means it affectionately.”
Mocker
Someone who imitates or ridicules another person in a scornful way.
Example: “The mocker copied her accent to get a laugh.”
Taunter
Someone who deliberately provokes another person with insulting or mocking remarks.
Example: “The player ignored the taunter on the sidelines.”
Scoffer
Someone who speaks about a person, idea, or belief with contempt or ridicule.
Example: “The scoffer dismissed every suggestion with a sarcastic remark.”
Bully
Appropriate when ridicule is repeated, targeted, and used to intimidate, humiliate, or hurt someone.
Example: “The teasing had become bullying because it was relentless and one-sided.”
Heckler
Someone who interrupts a speaker, performer, or public event with mocking or challenging remarks.
Example: “The comedian dealt quickly with a heckler in the front row.”
Roaster
Informal term for someone who makes pointed jokes about others, often in a context where teasing is expected.
Example: “He’s the group’s resident roaster and always has a comeback ready.”
Put-down artist
Informal phrase for someone who frequently uses insulting or belittling remarks.
Example: “She got tired of the office put-down artist turning every conversation into a joke at someone else’s expense.”
Habitual teaser
A neutral descriptive phrase when teasing is a recurring behavior.
Example: “He’s a habitual teaser who rarely lets a small mistake pass without a joke.”
Mean-spirited joker
Useful when the person presents hurtful remarks as humor.
Example: “Calling him a mean-spirited joker fit better than pretending the comments were harmless.”
Someone who belittles others
Plain description for a person who makes others feel small or inferior.
Example: “She avoids people who belittle others to make themselves look better.”
Someone who takes cheap shots
Informal phrase for a person who makes unfair or unnecessarily personal jabs.
Example: “He keeps taking cheap shots whenever the discussion gets tense.”
Teasing and Bullying Are Not the Same
Friendly teasing is mutual and stops when someone is uncomfortable. Bullying involves a pattern of harmful, intimidating, or humiliating behavior. The relationship and effect matter more than whether the speaker calls it a joke.
The Most Neutral Choice for “Someone Who Makes Fun of Others”
If you simply mean someone who often jokes at other people’s expense, teaser is the mildest term. Use mocker or taunter when the ridicule is clearly sharper.