badger 1 of 2

badger

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noun

Synonym Chooser

How is the word badger distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of badger are bait, chivy, heckle, hector, and hound. While all these words mean "to harass by efforts to break down," badger implies pestering so as to drive a person to confusion or frenzy.

badgered her father for a car

When could bait be used to replace badger?

The words bait and badger are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, bait implies wanton cruelty or delight in persecuting a helpless victim.

baited the chained dog

When might chivy be a better fit than badger?

The words chivy and badger can be used in similar contexts, but chivy suggests persecution by teasing or nagging.

chivied the new student mercilessly

When is it sensible to use heckle instead of badger?

The synonyms heckle and badger are sometimes interchangeable, but heckle implies persistent annoying or belligerent interruptions of a speaker.

drunks heckled the stand-up comic

In what contexts can hector take the place of badger?

Although the words hector and badger have much in common, hector carries an implication of bullying and domineering.

football players hectored by their coach

When would hound be a good substitute for badger?

The meanings of hound and badger largely overlap; however, hound implies unrelenting pursuit and harassing.

hounded by creditors

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of badger
Verb
Wednesday brought more news that could influence the Fed's path, Trump's badgering notwithstanding. Jeff Cox, CNBC, 30 July 2025 Without badgering her, continue to educate your roommate on the need for water discipline and the urgency of conserving it. Harriette Cole, Mercury News, 30 July 2025
Noun
Sunshine Sean guards his feelings the way mama badgers guard their young. Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 4 Aug. 2025 In 2024, the database also includes planes colliding with three alligators in Florida, a mongoose in Hawaii, a badger in North Dakota and numerous coyotes, bats, skunks and opossums. Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 25 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for badger
Recent Examples of Synonyms for badger
Verb
  • As of Tuesday night, South Park’s X account still hasn’t teased any hints of what Episode 5 will be about, something the show has done consistently before the previous three episodes.
    Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
  • Cardi teased on Today about the follow-up to her smash 2018 debut LP, Invasion of Privacy.
    Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 16 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Emails multiplying like rabbits.
    Big Think, Big Think, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Some places also have rabbits, reptiles and other animals looking for home.
    Cody Godwin, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • For almost a year, the sheriff has been hounded by criticism from former employees.
    Ryan Oehrli, Charlotte Observer, 15 Sep. 2025
  • He was seen as an outspoken critic of his own party, but was also perceived as distant from Abe’s right-wing faction, which proved advantageous given the scandals hounding that segment of the party.
    Chad de Guzman, Time, 8 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • By the 1920s and '30s, fox skins draped around the shoulders or fashioned into capes were especially beloved.
    Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025
  • The playful creatures are prey to foxes, jaguars, and even at times humans, but tend to eat insects, plants, roots and smaller vertebrates, the zoo said.
    Paloma Chavez, Sacbee.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Have fun sticking it to the man—or the raccoon, as the case may be.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Both viruses are highly contagious and often fatal to mammals, such as dogs and raccoons, according to information from the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine and the American Veterinary Medical Association.
    Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Levi studies the endangered Humboldt marten, a small carnivore that lives on the Northern California and Southern Oregon coast.
    Andrew Cunningham, ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2025
  • This acquisition will improve the habitat for Wisconsin’s endangered American marten, which has been facing a dwindling habitat.
    Noël Fletcher, Forbes, 8 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • And all of a sudden, an otter comes right up to the glass and begins interacting with them, soon joined by a second otter.
    Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025
  • The otter’s work in the wild presents unique dangers, most notably from alligators that aren’t present in Splash’s training pools.
    Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 19 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • Around that same time, English merchants began offering Caribbean rum to the Shawnee and other Native groups as part of the trade in deerskins and beaver pelts.
    Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 30 Aug. 2025
  • Similarly, beaver populations dramatically declined in much of the park by the mid-20th century due to trapping.
    Madison Dapcevich, Outside, 29 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Badger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/badger. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.

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