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 WebReporters looking for skeletons in Truman’s political closet were pestering his neighbors.—Ron Grossman, Chicago Tribune, 4 Aug. 2024 Theo has been pestering their doctor about when they’ll be allowed to go swimming again.—Oliver Haug, Them, 2 Aug. 2024 Mays hadn’t registered to vote yet, despite the fact that his grandmother, who was worried about what the Republicans would do to Social Security, had been pestering him to do so.—Eliza Griswold, The New Yorker, 30 July 2024 For the past few months, North Korea has been pestering its southern neighbor with seemingly sporadic swarms of balloons ferrying trash.—Bryan Pietsch, Washington Post, 24 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for pester
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
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