pester
[pes-ter]
- to bother persistently with petty annoyances; trouble: Don't pester me with your trivial problems.
- Obsolete. to overcrowd.
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Origin of pester
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 (see pastor); aphetic form apparently reinforced by pest (cf. -er6)
Synonyms
See more synonyms for pester on Thesaurus.com1. annoy, vex, tease, disturb; irritate, provoke, plague; badger, harry, hector.
Antonyms
1. delight, entertain.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for pestered
Contemporary Examples
About two years ago, a woman claimed to be pestered by a spirit throughout the night.
I quit my fancy art-gallery job, threw myself into a wide variety of classes, and pestered Cory until he offered me a job.
The jazz fan who pestered him for narcotics turned out to be a federal agent.
When I was a kid, I pestered old people with questions about what life had been like in old times.
They seem bothered and pestered by the very patients and citizens they are sworn to help.
Historical Examples
I know not what I have written—I am pestered with people around me.
The Letters of Robert BurnsRobert Burns
He has pestered me to get back there ever since I showed him over the place the day he arrived.
The Inn at the Red OakLatta Griswold
But the mere trooth is, parson, I'm pestered by them promises I makes deeceased.
Faro Nell and Her FriendsAlfred Henry Lewis
He says she knows enough; an' he ain't goin' t' have her pestered.
Janet of the DunesHarriet T. Comstock
After that I wanted to write to him every day and pestered Mahananda accordingly.
My ReminiscencesRabindranath Tagore
pester
- (tr) to annoy or nag continually
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Word Origin
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
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for pestered
pester
v.
1520s, "to clog, entangle, encumber," probably a shortening of Middle French empestrer "place in an embarrassing situation" (Modern French empêtrer, Walloon epasturer), from Vulgar Latin *impastoriare "to hobble" (an animal), from Latin im- "in" + Medieval Latin pastoria (chorda) "(rope) to hobble an animal," from Latin pastoria, fem. of pastorius "of a herdsman," from pastor "herdsman" (see pastor (n.)). Sense of "annoy, trouble" (1560s) is from influence of pest. Related: Pestered; pestering.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper