pester

[ pes-ter ]

verb (used with object)

1. to bother persistently with petty annoyances; trouble:

   Don't pester me with your trivial problems.

   Synonyms: hector, harry, badger, plague, provoke, irritate, disturb, tease, vex, annoy

   Antonyms: entertain, delight

2. Obsolete. to overcrowd.

pester

/ ˈpɛstə /

verb

1. tr to annoy or nag continually

Derived Forms

• ˈpesterer, noun
• ˈpesteringly, adverb

Other Words From

• pester·er noun
• pester·ing·ly adverb
• pester·some adjective
• un·pestered adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pester¹

1530–40; perhaps aphetic variant of empester, impester to tangle, encumber (though pester is found earlier than these 2 words) < Middle French empestrer to hobble, entangle < Vulgar Latin *impāstōriāre to hobble, equivalent to im- im- ¹ + pāstōri ( a ) a hobble, noun use of Latin pāstōrius of a herdsman or shepherd + -āre infinitive suffix ( pastor ); aphetic form apparently reinforced by pest ( -er ⁶ )

Word History and Origins

Origin of pester¹

C16: from Old French empestrer to hobble (a horse), from Vulgar Latin impāstōriāre (unattested) to use a hobble, from pāstōria (unattested) a hobble, from Latin pāstōrius relating to a herdsman, from pastor herdsman

Example Sentences

But as I tried to pester, cajole, and play to what I thought were his sympathies to convince him to speak with me, he quickly stopped being mad.

From Slate

“She can’t use it, no need to pester,” says a higher-pitched voice.

From Literature

But now we needed to settle Lamont to his lunch, or he’d pester us to death.

From Literature

But every so often there’s one person who forgets to Venmo or Zelle or who I have to pester about sending their share a few times.

From Slate

Mark says: "My friend Dougie's mum, a lovely lady called Margaret, ran the catering and we would pester her for pancakes."

From BBC

Related Words

• annoy
• badger
• bedevil
• hassle
• hector
• hound
• irk
• nag
• tease
• torment