pestered 1 of 2

adjective

as in badgered

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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
Llínas and his wife, actress Laura Peredas, circle a neighborhood in vain looking for a statue while being pestered by their children. — Sam Bodrojan, IndieWire, 17 Sep. 2026 Bowers was unable to see his rookie-year production in 2025 due to his PCL sprain and bone bruiser that pestered him since Week 1’s victory over the New England Patriots. — Scott Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 9 Sep. 2026 Money is tight, the wheat harvest yields less money, and Sayed is being pestered by an outsider to sell his fields. — Jay Weissberg, Variety, 4 Sep. 2026 Homeowners can’t obtain advice or accurate estimates without handing over their phone numbers and risk being pestered by overzealous salespeople. — Lew Sichelman, Miami Herald, 19 Aug. 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pestered
  1. harassed
  2. bothered
  3. frustrated
  4. worried
  5. tortured
  6. harried
  7. tested
  8. tried
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
  • And he cannot be bothered with mentioning any of them even when discussing Watson's history.
    — Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Thomas has been estranged from the organization for months over a social media faux pas that bothered him and a lawsuit over sales of his jersey.
    — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of bothered
Adjective
  • Livia’s sister-in-law invokes the poem when Livia learns, to her surprise, that her manipulative, abusive mother had been a frustrated musician.
    — Sam Worley, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
  • They were thoroughly dominated by Chicago in a 23-12 loss on Sunday, a performance that left fans increasingly frustrated and the Jets insisting the franchise's past failures weren't seeping into the locker room.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of frustrated
Verb
  • At the same time, some critics worried that the Obama-era guidance had gone too far, tasking college bureaucrats with investigating criminal allegations and diluting due process.
    — Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Across Latin America and the Caribbean, voters worried about rising crime have elected populists who promise to impose order and security in their countries.
    — DAN RESTREPO, Foreign Affairs, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of worried
Adjective
  • Earlier works tinging with an obscure kind of darkness that hinted at tortured psychological states have all but disappeared from her work and living quarters in lieu of an elegant old world charm.
    — Francesca Aton, ARTnews.com, 29 Sep. 2026
  • But this leads to secrets revealed, lies told and tortured confrontations, not just with others but most intensely with himself.
    — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of tortured
Adjective
  • Merritt Wever does typically excellent work as a harried producer and malfunctioning moral compass on To Catch a Predator.
    — Joe Reid, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Indeed, the footage of the harried production staff trying to keep the show going on from the office at Bray Studios where the shoot is happening sometimes plays like a vintage workplace comedy but with a dark undertow.
    — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of harried
Adjective
  • Each application is pre-tested and integrated into the platform to reduce deployment time and improve reliability for end users.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 31 July 2026
  • 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
Definition of tested
Adjective
  • But first, the premiere settles the audience into a tried and true cop drama with power struggles over jurisdiction, a local militia led by a man with his own agenda, and a suspect who literally blows the case wide open.
    — Sabrina Reed, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Short films are a tried and true launching pad for horror directors.
    — Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 14 July 2026
Definition of tried

Browse Nearby Words

pester
pestered
pestering
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Cite this Entry

“Pestered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pestered. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

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