Adjacent Words

Nag definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

NAG, n.
1. A small horse; a horse in general, or rather a sprightly horse.
2. A paramour; in contempt.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: someone (especially a woman) who annoys people by constantly finding fault [syn: scold, scolder, nag, nagger, common scold]
2: an old or over-worked horse [syn: hack, jade, nag, plug] v
1: bother persistently with trivial complaints; "She nags her husband all day long" [syn: nag, peck, hen-peck]
2: worry persistently; "nagging concerns and doubts"
3: remind or urge constantly; "she nagged to take a vacation"

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English nagge; akin to Dutch negge small horse Date: 15th century horse; especially one that is old or in poor condition II. verb (nagged; nagging) Etymology: probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse nagga to moan, complain Date: circa 1828 intransitive verb 1. to find fault incessantly ; complain 2. to be a persistent source of annoyance or distraction transitive verb 1. to irritate by constant scolding or urging 2. badger, worry • nagger noun • nagging adjective • naggingly adverb III. noun Date: 1925 one who nags habitually

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. v. & n. --v. (nagged, nagging) 1 a tr. annoy or irritate (a person) with persistent fault-finding or continuous urging. b intr. (often foll. by at) find fault, complain, or urge, esp. persistently. 2 intr. (of a pain) ache dully but persistently. 3 a tr. worry or preoccupy (a person, the mind, etc.) (his mistake nagged him). b intr. (often foll. by at) worry or gnaw. --n. a persistently nagging person. Derivatives: nagger n. naggingly adv. Etymology: of dial., perh. Scand. or LG, orig.: cf. Norw. & Sw. nagga gnaw, irritate, LG (g)naggen provoke 2. n. 1 colloq. a horse. 2 a small riding-horse or pony. Etymology: ME: orig. unkn.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Nag Nag, n. [OE. nagge, D. negge; akin to E. neigh.] 1. A small horse; a pony; hence, any horse. 2. A paramour; -- in contempt. [Obs.] --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Nag Nag, v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Nagged; p. pr. & vb. n. Nagging.] [Cf. Sw. nagga to nibble, peck, Dan. nage to gnaw, Icel. naga, gnaga, G. nagen, & E. gnaw.] To tease in a petty way; to scold habitually; to annoy; to fret pertinaciously. [Colloq.] ``She never nagged.'' --J. Ingelow.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(nags, nagging, nagged) 1. If someone nags you, they keep asking you to do something you have not done yet or do not want to do. The more Sarah nagged her, the more stubborn Cissie became... My girlfriend nagged me to cut my hair... She had stopped nagging him about never being home. ...children nagging their parents into buying things. VERB: V n, V n to-inf, V n about n, V n into -ing, also V [disapproval] • A nag is someone who nags. Aunt Molly is a nag about regular meals. N-COUNT • nagging Her endless nagging drove him away from home. 2. If something such as a doubt or worry nags at you, or nags you, it keeps worrying you. He could be wrong about her. The feeling nagged at him. ...the anxiety that had nagged Amy all through lunch... Something was nagging in the back of his mind. = niggle VERB: V at n, V n, V

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. Horse (especially a small horse), pony. II. v. a. Torment, worry, pester, hector, harass.

Moby Thesaurus

Houyhnhnm, advocate, aggravate, annoy, annoyer, apply pressure, badger, badgerer, bait, balker, balky horse, be at, bedevil, beset, besiege, blandish, bother, bring to recollection, bristle, brood mare, brown off, bug, bully, bullyrag, burn up, buttonhole, cajole, call on, call upon, carp at, carry back, charger, chivy, coax, colt, courser, critter, crock, crowbait, devil, discompose, distemper, disturb, dobbin, dog, dun, egg, entire, entire horse, equine, exasperate, exercise, exert pressure, exhort, fash, filly, foal, fret at, fuss, fuss at, garron, gelding, get, give a hint, give the cue, goad, goat, gripe, hack, harass, harasser, harrier, harry, hassle, heckle, heckler, hector, henpeck, high-pressure, hold the promptbook, horse, hound, importune, insist, insist upon, irk, jade, jawbone, jog the memory, jughead, lobby, mare, miff, molest, mount, nag at, needle, nettle, nibble at, niggle, nudge, nudnik, nudzh, peck at, peeve, persecute, persecutor, pest, pester, pesterer, pick at, pick on, pique, plague, plaguer, plead with, pluck the beard, plug, ply, pother, prancer, press, pressure, prod, prompt, prompt the mind, provoke, push, put in mind, put in remembrance, recall, recommend, remember, remind, remind one of, ride, rile, roarer, rogue, roil, rosinante, ruffle, sadist, scalawag, soft-soap, stallion, steed, stiff, stud, studhorse, suggest, sweet-talk, tarpan, tease, teaser, top horse, torment, tormentor, try the patience, tweak the nose, urge, vex, war-horse, wheedle, whistler, wild horse, work on, worry, yap at