pestered 1 of 2

adjective

as in badgered

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

pestered

2 of 2

verb

past tense of pester
as in bothered
to thrust oneself upon (another) without invitation one resident pestered the condo board about every little thing

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of pestered
Verb
Scheierman also hit two earlier threes, grabbed five rebounds and pestered Gilgeous-Alexander to force a third-quarter turnover to help Boston take down the defending NBA champions 119-109. — Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 26 Mar. 2026 My own parents met coming out of a movie theater in New Britain when my less than suave Coast Guard father pestered my mother for a date. — Jody Mamone, Hartford Courant, 11 Feb. 2026 But with a game against powerhouse Massillon on the horizon, Mike pestered coach Gerry Rardin for weeks. — Chad Graff, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2026 Rori Harmon and Jordan Lee led a defense that persistently pestered Gators guard Liv McGill, who entered the game as the SEC's second-leading scorer, in a 6-for-16 shooting performance that included nine of Florida's 21 turnovers. — Danny Davis, Austin American Statesman, 29 Jan. 2026 Charles, who is a big fan of the Ravens, pestered Kelce for much of that visit about the Chiefs’ 17-10 win in the AFC Championship Game in 2024 in Baltimore. — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 23 Sep. 2025 Williams missed four games last year from a hamstring strain that pestered him throughout the season. — Adam Grosbard, Oc Register, 5 Sep. 2025 Surely only Williams pestered the woman about it afterwards. — Joshua Kaplan, ProPublica, 4 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pestered
  1. harassed
  2. bothered
  3. frustrated
  4. worried
  5. tortured
  6. annoyed
  7. harried
  8. tested
Adjective
  • Others were placed under house arrest, harassed or subject to extensive surveillance, or had their passports confiscated, according to prior NPR reporting and the findings of the United Nations and rights groups.
    — Emily Feng, NPR, 17 May 2026
  • For years, Christian clergy who live and work in Jerusalem have reported being frequently spat on, harassed and even physically attacked by Israeli extremists.
    — Yuliya Talmazan, NBC news, 1 May 2026
Definition of harassed
Verb
  • The problem Databento is solving has bothered anyone who has ever tried to get institutional-grade market data.
    — Lily Mae Lazarus, Fortune, 9 July 2026
  • There was a stretch of my adolescence, sometime in the early 2000s, when I was quietly convinced my life was a television show and no one had bothered to tell me.
    — Alli Kushner, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
Definition of bothered
Adjective
  • Unemployment remains above 30%, making migrants easy political targets for frustrated communities and opportunistic actors.
    — Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 10 July 2026
  • Most frustrated of all are the people tasked with policing the takeovers.
    — Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 10 July 2026
Definition of frustrated
Verb
  • Even if the bond was granted, Wilber worried his family wouldn’t have the funds to pay his bail, which can cost thousands of dollars.
    — Itzel Luna, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026
  • During the Revolutionary War, General Washington worried that British troops were stockpiling weapons and ammunition in the fort and preparing to attack northern colonies.
    — Lane Degregory, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 July 2026
Definition of worried
Adjective
  • It’s held together beautifully by Bailey, who’s easy to root for as the tortured protagonist, and, as one half (along with her sister) of the musical duo Chloe x Halle, knows a thing or two about the musician’s plight.
    — Marlow Stern, Variety, 26 June 2026
  • Superman pops in for a couple of cute scenes along the way, while another DC side character, the alien and bounty hunter Lobo (Jason Momoa), appears as a tortured bit of universe-building.
    — David Sims, The Atlantic, 26 June 2026
Definition of tortured
Verb
  • Conceding from a restart would have annoyed France, and Jorgen Strand Larsen converting his penalty could have made this more fun.
    — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 7 July 2026
  • Those of us old enough to remember the 1994-95 strike recall it as a disaster for the sport, as fans were annoyed by both owners and players, and many turned to other life interests.
    — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 6 July 2026
Definition of annoyed
Adjective
  • The confluence of those problems lead to a harried, chew-your-fingernails night for all the star players in this final season.
    — Randy McMullen, Mercury News, 2 July 2026
  • There appears to be some confusion about what roads near the Garden will or could be closed down for the Friday gathering — a situation made all the more harried by the proximity of Penn Station, ongoing FIFA World Cup tourism and seen-it-all NYC being NYC leaning into the July 4 shindig.
    — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 24 June 2026
Definition of harried
Adjective
  • But summer back in New York, amid the fug of the city, requires a return to a tested and true formula.
    — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 22 June 2025
  • The End Kidney Deaths Act finally offers a tested and reasonable solution.
    — Lindsay Gutierrez, Baltimore Sun, 13 May 2025
Definition of tested

Browse Nearby Words

pester
pestered
pestering
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pestered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pestered. Accessed 14 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on pestered

Nglish: Translation of pestered for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of yaw

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All