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nagging

 - 5 dictionary results

nag⋅ging

  [nag-ing]
–adjective
1. continually faultfinding, complaining, or petulant: a nagging parent.
2. persistently recurring; unrelenting: a nagging backache.
Use nagging in a Sentence
Origin:
1830–40; nag 1 + -ing 2

Related forms:
nag⋅ging⋅ness, noun

nag

1  [nag] verb, nagged, nag⋅ging, noun
–verb (used with object)
1. to annoy by persistent faultfinding, complaints, or demands.
2. to keep in a state of troubled awareness or anxiety, as a recurrent pain or problem: She had certain misgivings that nagged her.
–verb (used without object)
3. to find fault or complain in an irritating, wearisome, or relentless manner (often fol. by at): If they start nagging at each other, I'm going home.
4. to cause pain, discomfort, distress, depression, etc. (often fol. by at): This headache has been nagging at me all day.
–noun
5. Also, nagger. a person who nags, esp. habitually.
6. an act or instance of nagging.
Origin:
1815–25; < ON nagga to rub, grumble, quarrel; akin to MLG naggen to irritate. See gnaw

Synonyms:
1. pester, harass, hector, irritate, vex.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To nagging
nag 1   (nāg)   
v.   nagged, nag·ging, nags

v.   tr.

  1. To annoy by constant scolding, complaining, or urging.

  2. To torment persistently, as with anxiety or pain.

v.   intr.

  1. To scold, complain, or find fault constantly: nagging at the children.

  2. To be a constant source of anxiety or annoyance: The half-remembered quotation nagged at my mind.

n.  One who nags.

[Probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse gnaga, to bite, gnaw.]
nag'ger n., nag'ging·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
nag

  1. tv.
    to pester someone constantly. (From a centuries-old word meaning gnaw.) : Stop nagging me!
  2. n.
    a worn-out horse. (Probably from a centuries-old word for horse.) : I bet a week's pay on that nag. Look what happened!
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

nag  (n.)
"old horse," c.1400, nagge "small riding horse," of unknown origin, perhaps related to Du. negge, neg (but these are more recent than the Eng. word). Term of abuse is a transferred sense, first recorded 1598.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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