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Synonyms

molest

American  
[muh-lest] / məˈlɛst /

verb (used with object)

  1. to make indecent sexual advances to.

  2. to assault sexually.

  3. Older Use. to bother, interfere with, or annoy.

    Synonyms:
    torment, hector, plague, trouble, harry, harass
molest British  
/ ˌməʊlɛˈsteɪʃən, məˈlɛst /

verb

  1. to disturb or annoy by malevolent interference

  2. to accost or attack, esp with the intention of assaulting sexually

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See attack.

Other Word Forms

  • molestation noun
  • molester noun
  • molestful adjective
  • unmolested adjective
  • unmolesting adjective

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”

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.