different between torment vs pester

English

Etymology

From Middle English torment, from Old French torment, from Latin tormentum (“something operated by twisting”), from torquere (“to twist”).

Pronunciation

• (noun) IPA^(key): /?t??(?)m?nt/
• (verb) IPA^(key): /t??(?)?m?nt/

Noun

torment (countable and uncountable, plural torments)

1. (obsolete) A catapult or other kind of war-engine.
2. Torture, originally as inflicted by an instrument of torture.
3. Any extreme pain, anguish or misery, either physical or mental.

   He was bitter from the torments of the divorce.

   • They brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:pain

Derived terms

• tormentous

Translations

Verb

torment (third-person singular simple present torments, present participle tormenting, simple past and past participle tormented)

1. (transitive) To cause severe suffering to (stronger than to vex but weaker than to torture.)

   The child tormented the flies by pulling their wings off.

   • 2013, Phil McNulty, "Man City 4-1 Man Utd", BBC Sport, 22 September 2013:

     Moyes, who never won a derby at Liverpool in 11 years as Everton manager, did not find the Etihad any more forgiving as City picked United apart in midfield, where Toure looked in a different class to United's £27.5m new boy Marouane Fellaini, and in defence as Aguero tormented Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand.

Derived terms

• tormentor

Translations

Middle English

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French torment, from Latin tormentum.

Noun

torment (plural torments)

1. torment (suffering, pain)

Descendants

• English: torment

Middle French

Alternative forms

• tourment

Etymology

From Old French torment, from Latin tormentum.

Noun

torment m (plural torments)

1. torment; suffering; anguish

Old French

Alternative forms

• turment

Etymology

From Latin tormentum.

Noun

torment m (oblique plural tormenz or tormentz, nominative singular tormenz or tormentz, nominative plural torment)

1. torture
2. (figuratively, by extension) suffering; torment

Descendants

• Middle English: torment (borrowing)
  • English: torment
• Middle French: torment, tourment
  • French: tourment

References

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

Old Occitan

Etymology

From Latin tormentum.

Noun

torment m (nominative singular torments)

1. suffering; torment

Descendants

• Catalan: turment
• Occitan: torment

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