nagging

adjective

nag·​ging ˈna-giŋ 

1

: persistently annoying or finding fault with someone

a nagging husband/wife

2

a

: causing continual or recurring worry or anxiety

a nagging fear

This time, the worry is that the housing slowdown will curtail growth before the Federal Reserve gets nagging inflation concerns resolved.

—Scott Patterson

b

: causing continual or recurring pain or discomfort

He'd had a nagging headache all day.

a nagging injury

naggingly

ˈna-giŋ-lē 

adverb

There has always been something naggingly sad about Bonds' career …

—Tim Keown

… something about the book feels naggingly familiar, as if you know how it will end before you start …

—Debra Pickett

Synonyms of nagging

• disturbing
• unsettling
• troubling
• troublesome
• nasty

Examples of nagging in a Sentence

I have this nagging feeling that something will still go wrong

Recent Examples on the Web

Juan Soto will get imaging done on his nagging left calf Saturday, Mets interim manager Andy Green said Friday night after New York’s 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. — Tim Britton, New York Times, 25 July 2026

In Jenny Offill’s Weather, climate change intrudes on its narrator’s mundane day-to-day thoughts, a nagging anxiety that never quite boils over. — Robert Rubsam, The Atlantic, 20 July 2026

In anticipation of the birth of his son, Ferguson had kicked a nagging heroin habit, trading his addiction to drugs for an infatuation with activism. — Literary Hub, 10 July 2026

Third line James Hagens-Elias Lindholm-Marat Khusnutdinov If Lindholm, a veteran centerman beset by a nagging back injury, finds consistently good health, then that may change things. — Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 7 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1829, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for nagging

• bagging
• bragging
• dragging
• flagging
• gagging
• lagging
• sagging
• slagging
• snagging
• tagging
• wagging
• unflagging