as in harassment
the act of making unwelcome intrusions upon another
the endless pestering finally drove me to study at the library
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in teasing
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
as in bothering
to thrust oneself upon (another) without invitation
one resident pestered the condo board about every little thing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of pestering
Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026
No kid brother tagging along, pestering him with questions, pushing up on his social circle.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 31 Dec. 2025
Toy companies and trinket manufacturers were buffeting kids with ads, and children were pestering their parents for gifts.
—Michael Waters, The Atlantic, 10 Dec. 2025
Hawke’s Hart holds serve in all of these scenes, motormouthing, pestering, insisting, utterly unable to help himself, sometimes in the most literal interpretation of the phrase.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
Meanwhile, the ewe who gave birth to her won't go away or stop pestering these human usurpers.
—Dennis Perkins, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
Alex Caruso was the ace in the hole, pestering and prodding Jokic to death in Game 7.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 10 Oct. 2025
Schroder, who has a reputation for pestering opposing point guards, is the head of that spear.
—Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 9 Oct. 2025
No kid brother tagging along, pestering him with questions, pushing up on his social circle.
—Janine Henni, PEOPLE, 8 Sep. 2025
Verb
The strengths that those same opponents will spend long hours trying to account for — Nix’s pestering speed, a relentless pass-rush that produced a franchise-record 68 sacks, including four of Lance — aren’t changing either.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for pestering
Noun
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Zabik is facing two counts of inciting destruction of life or property, menacing, and harassment.—
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And Kelly keeps cashing in, converting Hegseth’s harassment into campaign donations.—
Verb
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Ibrahim keeps bothering me endlessly, touching my leg and thigh.—
-
Ask her if anything is bothering her.—
Adjective
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Likewise, Alexander’s Hannah is the naughty girl who deserves to be punished for rudely moving in on Lucy’s crush, Nick (Benjamin Cheng).—
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Mirren’s sharp wit, undaunted candor and natural grace is further amplified in a playful, almost naughty swag girl way about her.—
Noun
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Lessons in grit At training camp, Plimpton faced the teasing of players but earned respect by facing the brutality of sport and by persisting despite the inevitability of pain.—
-
My whole hair life has always revolved around bangs, a lot of teasing, and that ’60s hairdo.—
Adjective
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Scottish actor John Hannah was Evelyn’s troublemaking brother Jonathan.—
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Over the years, Greg has gotten into fights with his best friend Rowley and troublemaking brother Rodrick, he’s gone to summer camp and saved his school, even tried his hand (disastrously) at sports.—
Adjective
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Reduce Food Sources Eliminating entry points should reduce some rodent problems, but mice are crafty and will continue to seek shelter indoors if there are tasty snacks drawing them in.—
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Make Something New For the crafty type, a large blanket can be upcycled into several things, depending on its condition.—
Cite this Entry
“Pestering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pestering. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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