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Synonyms

molestation

American  
[moh-le-stey-shuhn, mol-e-] / ˌmoʊ lɛˈsteɪ ʃən, ˌmɒl ɛ- /

noun

  • molestations
    plural
  1. touching a nonconsenting person, especially a child, in a sexual manner.

    He was arrested on charges of lewd and lascivious molestation and child abuse.

  2. an act or instance of interference with or violence against someone.

    Under the terms of the citadel’s surrender, the Persians were allowed to pass without molestation through the midst of the Roman army.


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of molestation

First recorded in 1600–10; molest ( def. ) + -ation ( def. )

Vocabulary lists containing molestation

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:

A three-judge panel of the California Court of Appeal has breathed new life into the child molestation cases brought by “Leaving Neverland” subjects Wade Robson and James Safechuck against Michael Jackson’s corporation.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 27, 2023

Rep. Tim Bonner, a Republican from Mercer and a former prosecutor who handled child molestation cases, said making the legislation retroactive was the right thing to do.

From Seattle Times Feb. 24, 2023

Like Jackson, who was acquitted in 2005 of child molestation, Brown is a divisive figure.

From Salon Nov. 21, 2022

Hashtags such as #arrestzubair began trending and exactly a month later, Delhi police called him to question him about a photograph he had posted of a man accused of molestation.

From BBC Jul. 8, 2022

He let Johnny have his rig and also wrote him a pass which would prevent any molestation from the Whig mobs and told Cilia to get a similar pass from the British soldiers.

From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes

Steinsapir, who emphasized that the alleged molestations took place in Jackson’s home, not in workplaces, replied, “Could my law firm tell me who I’m allowed to be with in my own home?”

From Washington Times Jul. 26, 2023

Delhi police records released in February showed a small drop in reported rapes and molestations last year, and 10% fall in offences against women overall.

From The Guardian May 4, 2017

To this the German version bears little resemblance: there was merely an orderly demonstration against "molestations" of German girls by Polish officials, and Gustav Gruebner was plugged for no reason at all.

From Time Magazine Archive

Fourteen examples were chosen for the "Thaumatographia Pneumatica," as "remarkable histories" of molestations from evil spirits, and Mather said of them, "that no reasonable man in this whole country ever did question them."

From The Witchcraft Delusion in Colonial Connecticut (1647-1697) by John M. (John Metcalf) Taylor

The Judges must help the Curiales against the molestations of Sajones and other officials.

From The Letters of Cassiodorus Being A Condensed Translation Of The Variae Epistolae Of Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator by Thomas Hodgkin

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