nagging

adjective

nag·​ging ˈna-giŋ 

1

: persistently annoying or finding fault with someone

a nagging husband/wife

2

a

: causing continual or recurring worry or anxiety

a nagging fear

This time, the worry is that the housing slowdown will curtail growth before the Federal Reserve gets nagging inflation concerns resolved.

—Scott Patterson

b

: causing continual or recurring pain or discomfort

He'd had a nagging headache all day.

a nagging injury

naggingly

ˈna-giŋ-lē 

adverb

There has always been something naggingly sad about Bonds' career …

—Tim Keown

… something about the book feels naggingly familiar, as if you know how it will end before you start …

—Debra Pickett

Synonyms

• discomforting
• discomposing
• disquieting
• distressing
• disturbing
• nasty
• perturbing
• troublesome
• troubling
• troublous
• unsettling
• upsetting
• worrisome

Examples of nagging in a Sentence

I have this nagging feeling that something will still go wrong

Recent Examples on the Web

Maybe, though, the disenchantment came from something bigger than any of that – a nagging sense that South Africa was going backward. —Ryan Lenora Brown, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 May 2024

Though there’s always excitement for the final destination, there’s also a growing packing list, last minute errands to run, and the nagging dilemma of how to make the best out of all those hours in the air. —Kristin Braswell, Travel + Leisure, 21 May 2024

The foreclosure underscores the nagging weakness in the Bay Area commercial real estate market. —George Avalos, The Mercury News, 20 May 2024

In the past, nagging doubts may have dissuaded you from putting yourself out there. —Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 27 Apr. 2024

Advertisement Grand Canyon, on the other hand, went through four pitchers , which head coach Shannon Hays attributed largely to a nagging hip flexor injury to senior Hailey Hudson. —Andrés Soto, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2024

One nagging problem in the move to cleaner trucks is the lack of refueling stations that enable fleets to travel long distances. —Kristin J. Bender, The Mercury News, 16 May 2024

But there was also this nagging thought: What is one of the league’s legacy franchises, in its second-largest market, doing playing in the Pyramid, capacity 4,000, on opening night? —Jim Alexander, Orange County Register, 16 May 2024

But the feeling stayed with him—a nagging voice asking, what if? —Shefali Luthra, TIME, 15 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1829, in the meaning defined at sense 1