molest
Americanverb
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to disturb or annoy by malevolent interference
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to accost or attack, esp with the intention of assaulting sexually
Synonym Usage
See attack.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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molestsimple
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molestssimple
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have molestedperfect
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has molestedperfect
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am molestingprogressive
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are molestingprogressive
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is molestingprogressive
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have been molestingperfect progressive
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has been molestingperfect progressive
Past
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molestedsimple
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had molestedperfect
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was molestingprogressive
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were molestingprogressive
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had been molestingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of molest
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English molesten, from Latin molestāre “to irk,” derivative of molestus “irksome”; compare mōlēs “mass, burden, trouble”
Explanation
To molest someone is to annoy or attack them. Although the word was first used to mean "pester," now it is more typically used to refer to criminal abuse. The verb molest can be used to talk about any kind of persistent harassment, but it most commonly describes an unwanted or aggressive sexual attack. To molest someone in this in way is a very serious criminal assault. The word originally meant simply "to cause trouble or grief," and it comes from the Latin word molestare, "to disturb, trouble, or annoy." It wasn't used to mean "attack sexually" until about 1950.
Vocabulary lists containing molest
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The city is a bird sanctuary and its code says it is illegal to hunt, wound, molest, injure or kill any bird within its limits.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 10, 2021
The Emporia Gazette reports defense attorney Christopher Joseph said Hawkins was sloppy and should have better explained his procedures to the women but he didn’t molest them.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 23, 2019
Two, Wade Robson testified under oath that Michael Jackson didn’t molest him, raising the question, “Was he lying then, or is he lying now?”
From Slate ● Mar. 8, 2019
Around 1993, James and Wade told the authorities that Jackson didn’t molest them; and Wade testified in court on Jackson’s behalf in 2005.
From New York Times ● Feb. 28, 2019
The strike was to be orderly and peaceful: signs posted in five languages reminded strikers to “Obey the union’s rules to molest no person or property, and abide strictly by the laws of the country.”
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
It is my observation and belief that a grizzly, if physically able, will attack any living thing that molests it or interferes with its routine activities.
From Time Magazine Archive
For I will guarantee their good condition: and this very night, I will rid thee of the evil demon that molests her.
From An Essence of the Dusk, 5th Edition by F. W. (Francis William) Bain
By pleasure and pain, I would be understood to signify, whatsoever delights or molests us; whether it arises from the thoughts of our minds, or anything operating on our bodies.
From An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, Volume 1 MDCXC, Based on the 2nd Edition, Books 1 and 2 by John Locke
The former finds plenty of game to feed on, and, consequently, seldom molests man.
From Trade and Travel in the Far East or Recollections of twenty-one years passed in Java, Singapore, Australia and China. by G. F. Davidson
Kashmir is truly and indeed the paradise of birds, for there no man molests them, and no schoolboy collects eggs, and the result is a fascinating fearlessness, the result of perpetual peace and plenty.
From A Holiday in the Happy Valley with Pen and Pencil by T. R. Swinburne
“I have other people in the office that believe they probably were molested and that they deserve to have some relief.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2024
The four-time Oscar-winning director of "Annie Hall" and other comedies has repeatedly denied the accusation that he molested his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow, in 1992.
From Reuters ● Jun. 28, 2022
Jackson, who died in 2009, was found not guilty in 2005 of charges alleging he had molested a boy.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 20, 2019
Those not interviewed in the reopened background investigation included Kavanaugh himself and Christine Blasey Ford, who ignited the furor by alleging he’d molested her in a locked room at a 1982 high school gathering.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 4, 2018
Public opinion in Maycomb was with him: Mr. Fink was an honorable man, he was trying his best to pay his debts, and the law molested him no further.
From "Go Set a Watchman: A Novel" by Harper Lee
Last year, the “Usual Suspects” and “House of Cards” star was found not liable in New York of molesting actor Anthony Rapp in 1986 when Rapp was 14 and Spacey was 26.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2023
Michael Jackson was eventually acquitted on four counts of molesting a minor.
From Fox News ● Jan. 3, 2022
His testimony helped to acquit the King of Pop of molesting Gavin Arvizo, a child cancer survivor.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 10, 2019
When Michael Jackson went on trial in 2005 on charges of molesting a 13-year-old boy, Mr. Jackson reconciled with his son and was at Michael’s side throughout the trial, which ended in an acquittal.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 27, 2018
“That is none of your business, you waif. Why aren’t you in school? Kindly stop molesting me. Anyway, I have no change.”
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
