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
Scott Patterson
b
: causing continual or recurring pain or discomfort
He'd had a nagging headache all day.
a nagging injury
naggingly
adverb
There has always been something naggingly sad about Bonds' career …
—Tim Keown
Tim Keown
… something about the book feels naggingly familiar, as if you know how it will end before you start …
—Debra Pickett
Debra Pickett
Examples of nagging in a Sentence
I have this nagging feeling that something will still go wrong
Recent Examples on the Web
Despite losing teammate Sophie Cunningham to a worrying knee injury in the second quarter and star guard Caitlin Clark still on the mend from a nagging groin injury that's kept her out for the last month, Sunday was a monumental day for two Indiana Fever stars.
—Michael Gallagher, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Aug. 2025
Alongside the sweetness of new life, there is the nagging worry over the baby’s survival expressed in her failure to gain weight or to stop crying.
—Ellyn Gaydos
august 11, Literary Hub, 11 Aug. 2025
That’s the motive behind the city’s stepped up Quality of Life initiative, a campaign to attack the everyday, nagging offenses that make New Yorkers from the South Bronx to Sheepshead Bay feel neglected and ignored, Adams said.
—Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 4 Aug. 2025
Rodman, who battled back from a nagging back injury, scored in the second minute of second half stoppage time, catching a ball mid-bounce and firing it over keeper Mackenzie Arnold for the game-winner.
—Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nagging
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Michael Gallagher, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Aug. 2025
Alongside the sweetness of new life, there is the nagging worry over the baby’s survival expressed in her failure to gain weight or to stop crying.
—Ellyn Gaydos
august 11, Literary Hub, 11 Aug. 2025
That’s the motive behind the city’s stepped up Quality of Life initiative, a campaign to attack the everyday, nagging offenses that make New Yorkers from the South Bronx to Sheepshead Bay feel neglected and ignored, Adams said.
—Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 4 Aug. 2025
Rodman, who battled back from a nagging back injury, scored in the second minute of second half stoppage time, catching a ball mid-bounce and firing it over keeper Mackenzie Arnold for the game-winner.
—Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nagging
Cite this Entry
“Nagging.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nagging. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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