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

Mike Evans and Christian Kirk, the centerpieces of the offseason moves, are battling nagging injuries. — Darren Cooper, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026

Yes, even better than the Dodgers, particularly if Shohei Ohtani is unable to return to pitching thanks to his nagging knee injury. — Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 2 Aug. 2026

That has not, though, prevented a nagging sense of nervousness among the fanbase — something that has been prevalent in previous years as well. — Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 31 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

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