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
In the late 1980s, Steve had a nasty episode at Harvard, badgered by the politically correct, and unsupported by the university at large. Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 3 Feb. 2025 Click here to read Part 1, here to read Part 2 and here to read Part 3. Johnny and Aaron Matthews started badgering the police just a few months after their sister, Sara Easton, died. Ariane Lange, Sacramento Bee, 26 Jan. 2025
Noun
The final photograph, David Northall's 'Spiked,' shows a relentless honey badger doubling back to attack a porcupine that has left the badger bloodied and covered in large quills. Rachel Raposas, People.com, 5 Feb. 2025 Many of the Badger Trust’s supporters are amateur badger enthusiasts, who belong to local badger groups scattered around the U.K. Anna Russell, The New Yorker, 10 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for badger
Recent Examples of Synonyms for badger
Verb
  • The monkeys did it Since the very first episode, people online have been speculating that the monkeys often seen in ambient shots of Thailand’s nature are to blame for the ultimate shootout teased in this season’s opening scene.
    Alli Rosenbloom, CNN Money, 5 Apr. 2025
  • Along with Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters and Gillian Anderson’s characters are teased in the minute-and-a-half-long trailer, which also features a voice appearance from Bridges.
    Glenn Garner, Deadline, 5 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Yet, ballots were cast even during the Civil War and WWII so the MAGA crowd would have to pull a pretty big rabbit, like the Insurrection Act, out of the hat to break precedent and award Trump a third term.
    Dominic Patten, Deadline, 30 Mar. 2025
  • Wednesday, April 9 Art and Soul: The monthly craft series for adults aged 50-plus offers the opportunity to make a decorative wooden rabbit from 10 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, April 9 at Community Park – Willow Room 306 at 13094 Civic Center Drive in Poway.
    Pomerado News, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Progressive advocates in Massachusetts have been hounding legislators to do something about the Trump administration’s decisions to slash federal funding for a variety of sectors in the state.
    Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald, 1 Apr. 2025
  • The book is a coming-of-age tale about a music obsessive who traversed the big city, digging through crates, hounding heroes like DJ Stretch Armstrong, and developing a distinct style over the course of countless late-night gigs.
    Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 27 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Later Baby Shark and Pinkfong, the name of a pink fox character, ride on SeaWorld attractions.
    Dewayne Bevil, Orlando Sentinel, 25 Mar. 2025
  • Sightings of Bon Secour’s resident nesting sea turtles, endangered Alabama beach mice, more than 350 species of migratory birds, foxes, armadillos, and more are common.
    Jennifer Stewart Kornegay, Southern Living, 22 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • The Harford County Health Department issued two rabies alerts this week— one on Tuesday for a raccoon that tested positive in the Forest Hill area, and another on Wednesday for a positive raccoon in Joppa.
    Brennan Stewart, Baltimore Sun, 27 Mar. 2025
  • Common raccoons, for instance, are cataloged as nocturnal in the scientific literature, but hundreds of observations from around the Americas showed instances of raccoon activity in the day, night, and twilight.
    Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 26 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • At the same time, marten populations shot up and the researchers began to see their scat in new areas.
    Siddhant Pusdekar, Journal Sentinel, 5 July 2024
  • 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
  • In August 2024, Wildlands Network launched daily roadkill surveys along US 64, cruising the highway and counting dead deer, bears, snakes, turtles, otters, bobcats, and other critters.
    Ben Goldfarb, Vox, 14 Mar. 2025
  • Animals whose parents struggle to feed them in The Americas include: bobcats, jaguars, bears, otters, whales, baby sharks doo doo doo doo doo doo, more bears, alligators, more bears, harpy eagles, penguins andtamarin monkeys.
    Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • The park has incredibly diverse terrain—coastal sand dunes, dense forests, meandering rivers, barrier islands—and fauna such as moose, beavers, and river otters.
    Steve Lyons, AFAR Media, 20 Mar. 2025
  • Painter and Jensen have seen beavers, muskrats, pond turtles, deer and black bears roaming the grounds.
    David Caraccio, Sacramento Bee, 8 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Badger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/badger. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.

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