nettles

verb

present tense third-person singular of nettle
as in bugs
to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts don't nettle your brother while he's trying to do his homework

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for nettles
  1. bugs
  2. annoys
  3. bothers
  4. irritates
  5. persecutes
Verb
  • Lift sheets, curtains and cushions to check for bed bugs or signs of bed bugs before settling in.
    — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 18 July 2026
  • Instead, as Laura bugs her sister long enough about just forgiving her already, Mary explodes.
    — Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 11 July 2026
Definition of bugs
Verb
  • Hotel-booking platform HotelTonight surveyed 447 of its American adult users in June about what annoys them the most during travel.
    — Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 21 July 2026
  • But Turner is a symbol for everything that annoys people about the Phillies.
    — Matt Gelb, New York Times, 19 July 2026
Definition of annoys
Verb
  • Refresh the space that bothers you most before making bigger visibility decisions.
    — Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 20 July 2026
  • If that bothers you, then a significant projection for Bo Nix’s season will make your skin crawl.
    — Troy Renck, Denver Post, 6 July 2026
Definition of bothers
Verb
  • The capsaicin in hot peppers irritates pests and deters them from feeding on plants.
    — Farima Ferguson, The Spruce, 15 July 2026
  • Anyone who has sat through a mandatory team-building exercise knows the difference between a ritual that binds and a program that irritates.
    — Julia Dhar, Time, 11 July 2026
Definition of irritates
Verb
  • China, which jails human rights activists in Hong Kong, persecutes Uyghurs, has killed hundreds of thousands of Tibetans and has committed genocide against the Falun Gong, is on the UN Human Rights Council.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 18 Feb. 2026
  • In Russia, the civilian repressive apparatus persecutes the military, which leaps at every chance for revenge.
    — Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Definition of persecutes
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

nettled
nettles
nettlesome
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Cite this Entry

“Nettles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nettles. Accessed 24 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on nettles

Nglish: Translation of nettles for Spanish Speakers

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