verb
Meaning 1
To sexually assault or sexually harass.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: come on to, diddle, touch
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
molest
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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/məˈlɛst/
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Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -ɛst
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CMU ARPABET: M AH0 L EH1 S T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
verb
Meaning 2
To annoy, trouble, or afflict.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: dated
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: bother, disturb, aggravate, annoy, nettle, rankle, ruffle, sting, antagonize, disgruntle, botherate, bug, get, grate, burn up, bedevil, cheese off, devil, exasperate, frustrate, get up, grotch, hack off, hassle, irk, irritate, jazz, molest, mommick, nark, nerve, pee off, peeve, peeve off, persecute, pique, piss off, provoke, rile, rile up, roil, storm, test someone's patience, tick off, trouble, try one's patience, vex, wind up, Idioms:, boil someone's piss, chap someone's hide, get on someone's nerves, get on someone's tits, get on someone's wick, get someone's back up, get someone's dander up, get someone's goat, get someone's Irish up, get someone's nanny, get someone's nanny-goat, get under one's goat, get under someone's skin, give someone the shits, grind one's gears, harsh one's mellow, put someone's back up, raise someone's hackles, rub someone the wrong way, rub up the wrong way, ruffle someone's feathers, tee off, torque off
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 3
To disturb or tamper with.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: dated
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: dabble in, interfere with, meddle with
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 4
annoy continually or chronically
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- He is known to harry his staff when he is overworked
- This man harasses his female co-workers
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: harass, hassle, harry, chivy, chivvy, chevy, chevvy, beset, plague, provoke
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: annoy, rag, get to, bother, get at, irritate, rile, nark, nettle, gravel, vex, chafe, devil
Narrower terms: needle, goad, torment, rag, bedevil, crucify, dun, frustrate, haze
verb
Meaning 5
harass or assault sexually; make indecent advances to
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: assail, assault, set on, attack
History
Etymology
From Middle English molesten, from Old French molester, from Latin molestō (“to trouble, annoy, molest”), from molestus (“troublesome”), from moles (“a burden, difficulty, labor, trouble”); see mole.
Across languages
Translations
56 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Bulgarian: задявам (zadjavam) — to annoy intentionally
- Finnish: kiusata — to annoy intentionally
- Finnish: vaivata — to annoy intentionally
- Finnish: rasittaa — to annoy intentionally
- Finnish: häiritä — to annoy intentionally
- Finnish: ärsyttää — to annoy intentionally
- French: embêter — to annoy intentionally
- German: belästigen — to annoy intentionally
- Ancient Greek: ὀχλέω (okhléō) — to annoy intentionally
- Irish: cuir isteach ar — to annoy intentionally
- Māori: turatura — to annoy intentionally
- Māori: mui — to annoy intentionally
- Māori: whakatete — to annoy intentionally
- Old English: eġlan — to annoy intentionally
- Persian: آزار دادن (âzâr dâdan) — to annoy intentionally
- Polish: molestować — to annoy intentionally
- Polish: naprzykrzać się — to annoy intentionally
- Portuguese: molestar — to annoy intentionally
- Romanian: molesta — to annoy intentionally
- Romanian: necăji — to annoy intentionally
- Russian: досажда́ть (dosaždátʹ) — to annoy intentionally
- Spanish: molestar — to annoy intentionally
- Swedish: störa — to annoy intentionally
- Ukrainian: чіплятися (čipljatysja) — to annoy intentionally
- Ukrainian: докучати (dokučaty) — to annoy intentionally
- Catalan: assetjar — to abuse
- Danish: antaste — to abuse
- Finnish: kiusata — to abuse
- Finnish: ahdistella — to abuse
- Finnish: käyttää hyväksi — to abuse
- Finnish: hyväksikäyttää — to abuse
- French: violer — to abuse
- French: abuser — to abuse
- Greek: κακοποιώ (kakopoió) — to abuse
- Greek: ασελγώ (aselgó) — to abuse
- Māori: tūkino — to abuse
- Māori: takakino — to abuse
- Māori: whakakino — to abuse
- Māori: whakakinokino — to abuse
- Māori: turatura — to abuse
- Norwegian Bokmål: antaste — to abuse
- Polish: molestować — to abuse
- Portuguese: molestar — to abuse
- Russian: совращать (sovraščatʹ) — to abuse
- Russian: растлевать (rastlevatʹ) — to abuse
- Spanish: acosar — to abuse
- Swedish: antasta — to abuse
- Bulgarian: безпокоя (bezpokoja) — to disturb or tamper with
- Finnish: häiritä — to disturb or tamper with
- Polish: molestować — to disturb or tamper with
- Swedish: störa — to disturb or tamper with
- Swedish: ofreda — to disturb or tamper with
- Spanish: abusar sexualmente — To sexually assault or sexually harass
- Spanish: molestar sexualmente — To sexually assault or sexually harass
- Spanish: acosar sexualmente — To sexually assault or sexually harass
- Spanish: apalpar indebidamente — To sexually assault or sexually harass