different between pester vs provoke

English

Etymology

In the senses of “overcrowd (a place)” and “impede (a person)”: from Middle French and Old French empestrer (“encumber”), influenced by English pest. The modern sense is an extension of the sense “infest”. Comparable to English construction pest + -er (used to form frequentative verbs).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?p?st?(?)/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?p?st?/, [?p??st?]
• Rhymes: -?st?(?)

Verb

pester (third-person singular simple present pesters, present participle pestering, simple past and past participle pestered)

1. (transitive) To bother, harass, or annoy persistently.
2. (obsolete, transitive and intransitive) To crowd together thickly.

Synonyms

• badger
• bug
• hound

Derived terms

• bepester
• pester power
• pesterer
• pestery

Related terms

• pest

Translations

Noun

pester (plural pesters)

1. A bother or nuisance.

Anagrams

• Peters, Pretes, pestre, peters, pre-set, preset, serpet

Dutch

Etymology

From pesten +? -er.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?p?s.t?r/
• Hyphenation: pes?ter

Noun

pester m (plural pesters, diminutive pestertje n)

1. A person who bullies or pesters somebody.

Related terms

• pesten, pesterij

Synonyms

• pestkop

Anagrams

• perste, preest, preste, streep

French

Etymology

From peste +? -er.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p?s.te/

Verb

pester

1. to rant, curse, fulminate

Conjugation

Further reading

• “pester” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• pertes, prêtes, prêtés

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

pester m or f

1. indefinite plural of pest

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

• pestar

Noun

pester m or f

1. indefinite feminine plural of pest

Slovene

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *p?str? (“variegated”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pè?st?r/

Adjective

p??st?r (comparative p??strejši, superlative n?jp??strejši)

1. colourful, variegated

Inflection

Further reading

• “pester”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French provoquer, from Old French, from Latin pr?voc?re. Doublet of provocate.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /p???v??k/
• (US) IPA^(key): /p???vo?k/
• Rhymes: -??k

Verb

provoke (third-person singular simple present provokes, present participle provoking, simple past and past participle provoked)

1. (transitive) To cause someone to become annoyed or angry.
   • Ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath.

2. (transitive) To bring about a reaction.
   • 1881, John Burroughs, Pepacton

     To the poet the meaning is what he pleases to make it, what it provokes in his own soul.
3. (obsolete) To appeal.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Dryden to this entry?)

Synonyms

• (bring about a reaction): bring about, discompose, egg on, engender, evoke, grill, incite, induce, inflame, instigate, invoke, rouse, set off, stir up, whip up; see also Thesaurus:incite

Derived terms

• provocation
• provocative

Related terms

• evoke
• invoke
• provocateur
• revoke

Translations