as in badgered
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Dissimilar Words
as in bothered
to thrust oneself upon (another) without invitation
one resident pestered the condo board about every little thing
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pestered
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pestered
Verb
-
Shuter is not bothered by such pesky details.—
Dan Adler,
Vanity Fair,
12 May 2026
-
One thing that bothered me in my career as a stylist was the cliché that the inspiration of the show is a certain period, and the designer did not see certain races in the casting.—
Rosemary Feitelberg,
Footwear News,
11 May 2026
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
Verb
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Still, Davies is worried the demand for compute far outstrips capabilities to repurpose waste heat, and could lead to more data center construction that would further burden environmental capacity versus extend it.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
15 May 2026
-
Those earlier polls left some Democratic Party leaders worried that Democrats might get shut out entirely from the general election.—
Linh Tat,
Oc Register,
15 May 2026
Verb
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To Henry, this would have been for the greater good of English football, but the reaction was again one of anger and Henry was annoyed that the idea was killed off.—
Simon Hughes,
New York Times,
1 May 2026
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As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the president doesn’t get annoyed with him once or twice.—
NBC news,
NBC news,
26 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
For the past 10 months, since a frustrated Colbert announced the cancellation of the three-decade-old talk show in July 2025, the countdown to his farewell has been looming over Colbert and the whole of the late-night genre like a guillotine with a threadbare rope.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
13 May 2026
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In Rhode Island, school speech therapist Denise Champney said she’s seen children get so frustrated with the software’s animations and spoken prompts that one punched the screen of his Chromebook.—
Tyler Kingkade,
NBC news,
12 May 2026
Adjective
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But it was denounced in others after a group of Iraqi artists pulled out of the show, protesting a French artist’s work that featured graphic images of tortured Abu Ghraib detainees.—
Alex Greenberger,
ARTnews.com,
8 May 2026
-
Patrick McTigue, chair of the planning board, voted last and cast the deciding vote — but not before taking a long and tortured pause.—
Susannah Bryan,
Sun Sentinel,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Why is any of this happening in person, rather than over harried texts?—
Mia Galuppo,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Apr. 2026
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During their harried getaway, Rodriguez crashed the scooter a few blocks away.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
8 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Projects will be judged on several criteria, including the project’s creativity and the use of tested and accurate AI.—
Jared Perlo,
NBC news,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Every batch of ice cream, even those with tested and confirmed recipes, requires a lot of tasting and adjusting.—
Maggie Hiufu Wong,
CNN Money,
5 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pestered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pestered. Accessed 19 May. 2026.
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