pester

verb

pes·​ter ˈpe-stər How to pronounce pester (audio)
pestered; pestering ˈpe-st(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce pester (audio)

transitive verb

1
obsolete : overcrowd
2
: to harass with petty irritations : annoy
Choose the Right Synonym for pester

worry, annoy, harass, harry, plague, pester, tease mean to disturb or irritate by persistent acts.

worry implies an incessant goading or attacking that drives one to desperation.

pursued a policy of worrying the enemy

annoy implies disturbing one's composure or peace of mind by intrusion, interference, or petty attacks.

you're doing that just to annoy me

harass implies petty persecutions or burdensome demands that exhaust one's nervous or mental power.

harassed on all sides by creditors

harry may imply heavy oppression or maltreatment.

the strikers had been harried by thugs

plague implies a painful and persistent affliction.

plagued all her life by poverty

pester stresses the repetition of petty attacks.

constantly pestered with trivial complaints

tease suggests an attempt to break down one's resistance or rouse to wrath.

children teased the dog

Examples of pester in a Sentence

Leave me alone! Stop pestering me! one resident pestered the condo board about every little thing
Recent Examples on the Web Against the bigger and deeper Red Storm, the Foresters pestered on defense and made enough big shots to lead for much of the first three quarters. Glenn Graham, Baltimore Sun, 26 Jan. 2024 McCarthy continued to pester the 22-year-old with questions about her music, before Eilish put a hand over her mouth. Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 25 Feb. 2024 Also, Lulu recently shared a video of her driver pestering her about his fate. Jessica Wang, EW.com, 23 Feb. 2024 When Izzo put Carr on him, the freshman’s quickness started to pester Rodgers. Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press, 12 Jan. 2024 Payne was unsurprisingly uncooperative, and pestering the mayor's son for information to use against his best friend predictably landed Price a meeting with, well, the mayor. Alex Ross, Peoplemag, 23 Feb. 2024 Teasing can look like a silly game, but playfully pestering others may carry evolutionary perks too. Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 14 Feb. 2024 The turnover bug continues to pester Maryland Only three games and 10 days removed from committing a season-worst 17 turnovers in a 65-62 setback at Minnesota, the Terps fell back into a familiar rut. Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 18 Jan. 2024 This could be good news, increasing consumer choice and possibly enabling different business models — how about mobile games that aren’t constantly pestering gamers for in-app purchases? Anil Dash, Rolling Stone, 30 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pester.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

modification of Middle French empestrer to hobble, embarrass, from Vulgar Latin *impastoriare, from Latin in- + Late Latin pastoria tether — more at pastern

First Known Use

1548, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of pester was in 1548

Dictionary Entries Near pester

Cite this Entry

“Pester.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pester. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

pester

verb
pes·​ter ˈpes-tər How to pronounce pester (audio)
pestered; pestering -t(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce pester (audio)

More from Merriam-Webster on pester

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