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
Pickett has suffered a nagging hamstring injury that has kept him out, leading to Gabriel moving forward in the backup position for the preseason finale against the Los Angeles Rams.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Aug. 2025
Naomi is a textbook Jewish mother, nagging and cajoling and smothering her children with logorrheic abandon.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 22 Aug. 2025
Yet the debilitating anxiety, the brooding anger, the nagging sorrow, the lingering self-doubt: All there, lodged within his distinctive baritone, and the hisses, shouts, pleas and sighs comprising his deliveries.
—Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2025
He’s consumed by a nagging question.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nagging
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James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Aug. 2025
Naomi is a textbook Jewish mother, nagging and cajoling and smothering her children with logorrheic abandon.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 22 Aug. 2025
Yet the debilitating anxiety, the brooding anger, the nagging sorrow, the lingering self-doubt: All there, lodged within his distinctive baritone, and the hisses, shouts, pleas and sighs comprising his deliveries.
—Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2025
He’s consumed by a nagging question.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 17 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 5 Sep. 2025.
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