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
Poor people know the intimate, badgering pangs of hunger, but in Ireland, the memory of the 1845-1848 Famine—the Great Hunger, when one million died from starvation and disease, and another million emigrated—still aches. Philip Metres august 27, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2025 Trump has been badgering Powell and other Fed officials to cut rates for months, but Powell has said the independent agency isn’t influenced by politics and will do what’s best for the economy. Paul Davidson, USA Today, 23 Aug. 2025
Noun
It is dipped in yellow icing, drizzled with chocolate and cookie crunch and features a badger emblem, of course. Sabrina Weiss, People.com, 14 Aug. 2025 Sunshine Sean guards his feelings the way mama badgers guard their young. Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 4 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for badger
Recent Examples of Synonyms for badger
Verb
  • Other locations previously teased by Netflix include Little Garden, Whiskey Peak, Reverse Mountain, and Loguetown.
    Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Oct. 2025
  • The New Jersey native also teased some new music on the way after some prying from Hudson.
    Michael Saponara, Billboard, 28 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • There’s a haunted corn maze, marigold fields, bounceland, Jurassic Fright, a tractor ride and sheep, goats and rabbits.
    Abby Hamblin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Oct. 2025
  • The farm is home to goats, Holstein cows, potbellied and kune kune pigs, donkeys, sheep, rabbits, llamas, alpacas, guinea fowl, guinea pigs, geese, chickens, a Shetland pony, and a Shire horse.
    Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 23 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The Grabber hounds Finn through an old phone booth and torments Gwen through her dreams.
    Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2025
  • All the while, the press continued to hound.
    Jon Landau, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • One New York Times story from 1937 described the popular costumes as paper-based — King Winter and ghosts for adults; ducks, squirrels, and foxes for kids.
    Mark Dent, HubSpot, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Moreover, local wildlife such as coyotes, foxes, dog and alligators often prey on cats.
    Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • That’s a sure way to invite not only raccoons but other unwanted guests such as mice, opossums, and skunks.
    Arricca Elin SanSone, Southern Living, 18 Oct. 2025
  • Texans may also have run-ins with wildlife, such as raccoons, opossums and squirrels, during the winter months, according to 855 Bugs.
    Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Oct. 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
  • In the first months, several truckloads of household and construction debris were removed; 11 fish species were introduced to the lake; and rare birds and animals—including the Eurasian otter, badger, black stork, merlin, and eagle owl—returned to the area.
    Maria Williams, USA Today, 27 Oct. 2025
  • This past month, Swifties helped raise $2 million for the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s otter conservation efforts after Swift sported one of the organization’s vintage T-shirts.
    Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 23 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The beaver moon will be just 221,817 miles from Earth, the closest full moon of the year.
    Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Hummingbirds have long beaks for sucking nectar from flowers, polar bears have thick skin and fur to keep them warm from the Arctic tundra and beavers have big, wide tails to propel them through the water.
    Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 1 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Badger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/badger. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

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