pesty

adjective

Definition of pestynext
as in annoying
causing annoyance a pesty toddler who never stopped asking questions

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 pesty In the last two weeks, five friends have come down with either a pesty cold or nasty flu bug. — Cathy Thomas, Oc Register, 4 May 2026 And the Senators will go home and await the NHL’s wheel of justice to determine how many games pesty forward Ridly Greig will miss to start next season. — James Mirtle, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026 The only positive to take away from a chilly, uneventful night at Coors Field was the Dodgers losing their fourth game in a row on a walk-off to the pesty Orioles. — Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pesty
  1. annoying
  2. irritating
  3. frustrating
Adjective
  • Edward Hoke is an ingratiating, appropriately annoying and attractive Blaze.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Cloobeck, 64, was arrested in May and charged with three counts of attempting to dissuade a witness from testifying and one count of harassment for making annoying phone calls, according to a criminal complaint.
    — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of annoying
Adjective
  • Sabalenka double-faulted on match point, her seventh double fault of the day, to put an exclamation point on an irritating evening.
    — Lukas Weese, New York Times, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Soft, suede-like material is smooth on skin and non-irritating.
    — BestReviews, Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of irritating
Adjective
  • Summary Many professionals discover their most impactful career lessons often come from demanding, even frustrating, bosses.
    — Mark Nevins, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Senate Bill 29 directly confronted the most frustrating aspect of Election Day, ballot questions.
    — Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of frustrating

Browse Nearby Words

pests
pesty
pet
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pesty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pesty. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
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 vacuous

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

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?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
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
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All