molest

verb

mo·​lest mə-ˈlest 

molested; molesting; molests

transitive verb

1

: to make unwanted or improper sexual advances towards (someone)

especially : to force physical and usually sexual contact on (someone)

He was sent to prison for molesting children.

2

somewhat old-fashioned : to annoy, disturb, or persecute (a person or animal) especially with hostile intent or injurious effect

Who doth molest my contemplation?

—Shakespeare

Bees flew past him, bees flew into him, bees settled upon his coat, bees paused questioningly in front of him … but not a single bee molested him.

—P. G. Wodehouse

At a hearing last week, activists persuaded the commission that the porcupines were being chased, molested and "worried" for human amusement.

—Kelli Anderson

molestation

ˌmō-ˌle-ˈstā-shən 

ˌmä-

-lə-

noun

molester

mə-ˈle-stər 

noun

Examples of molest in a Sentence

He was sent to jail for molesting children.

It was illegal to molest, capture, or kill any of the animals in the park.

Recent Examples on the Web

Federal authorities also said in December that a Celebrity Cruises crew member admitted to molesting children at an onboard youth center. —Nathan Diller, USA TODAY, 15 Apr. 2024

Between 1988 and 1992, Munoz was convicted of molesting two girls, ages 12 and 2, according to the District Attorney’s Office. —Lyndsay Winkley, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Apr. 2024

Police were called to ACE Empower Academy, which hosts students from fifth to eighth grade, on South Sunset Avenue on Dec. 13, 2023, for a report of an adult man annoying or molesting a minor. —Nollyanne Delacruz, The Mercury News, 25 Mar. 2024

That investigation began in September and focused on the allegations of families who said Olea had molested their daughters, ages 4 and 7. —Ana Claudia Chacin, Miami Herald, 31 Mar. 2024

Peck coached the victim, the release states, and the family reported Peck had molested the child over a six month period. —Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 20 Mar. 2024

Drake Bell is defending his Drake & Josh costar Josh Peck for not commenting publicly about the explosive new documentary series Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, in which Bell revealed he was molested as a teen. —Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 20 Mar. 2024

All About the Nickelodeon Creator Mentioned in Quiet on Set Schneider also spoke to Drake Bell’s revelations that he was repeatedly molested by dialogue coach Brian Peck (no relation to Bell's co-star Josh Peck) when Bell was 15. —Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 19 Mar. 2024

Cliff Gardner: The idea back then was, A, dads don't molest their children. —Natalie Morales, CBS News, 2 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French molester, from Latin molestare, from molestus burdensome, annoying; akin to Latin moles mass

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

molest

verb

mo·​lest mə-ˈləst 

1

: to injure or disturb by interfering : annoy

2

: to make unwelcome sexual advances to

especially : to force physical sexual contact on

molestation

ˌmōl-ˌes-ˈtā-shən 

ˌmōl-əs-

ˌmäl-ˌes-

noun

molester

mə-ˈles-tər 

noun

Legal Definition

molest

transitive verb

mo·​lest mə-ˈlest 

1

: to annoy, disturb, or persecute especially with hostile intent or injurious effect

2

: to make annoying sexual advances to

specifically : to force physical and usually sexual contact on (as a child)

molestation

ˌmō-ˌles-ˈtā-shən, ˌmä-, -ləs- 

noun

molester noun