You try to explain. They imitate the way you speak.

Mocking, insulting

Mocking and insulting become a pattern when ridicule or degrading language repeatedly replaces a response to what you said, did or asked for.

The point is not answered. The person making it is discredited instead, making it increasingly costly to speak, object or bring the issue forward again.

You may edit what you say, avoid certain subjects, laugh along or stay quiet to avoid another insult. Shame about how you were treated can begin competing with the issue you were trying to raise.

Mutual teasing and an angry remark are not automatically a repeated pattern. The distinction is whether the language is acknowledged and stops when unwelcome—or whether ridicule returns, intensifies or becomes the answer to your objections.

You do not need to decide what it is. You can note the date and what happened, and read it back later.

One moment rarely tells the whole story. Look at what repeats over time—and what happens when harm, disagreement or a boundary is named.