molest
verb
mo·lest mə-ˈlest 
molested; molesting; molests
transitive verb
1
: to make unwanted or improper sexual advances towards (someone)
especially : to force physical and usually sexual contact on (someone)
He was sent to prison for molesting children.
2
somewhat old-fashioned : to annoy, disturb, or persecute (a person or animal) especially with hostile intent or injurious effect
Who doth molest my contemplation?
Shakespeare
ShakespeareBees flew past him, bees flew into him, bees settled upon his coat, bees paused questioningly in front of him … but not a single bee molested him. P. G. Wodehouse
P. G. WodehouseAt a hearing last week, activists persuaded the commission that the porcupines were being chased, molested and "worried" for human amusement. Kelli Anderson
Kelli Anderson molestation
ˌmō-ˌle-ˈstā-shən
noun ˌmä-
-lə-
molester
mə-ˈle-stər
noun 
Example Sentences
He was sent to jail for molesting children. It was illegal to molest, capture, or kill any of the animals in the park.
Recent Examples on the Web The use of physical tests, like fat tests, as pretexts to molest young athletes has come up in other cases. New York Times, 11 May 2022 Remember those palmy days when conservative conspiracy theorists outside elective politics spread the word that Democrats wanted to molest your children? Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 13 May 2022 He’d been victimized by Paul Shanley, who used to take kids to a Stoneham campsite and molest them there. BostonGlobe.com, 22 Sep. 2021 During that time, Nassar continued to molest young girls under the guise of of medical treatment. Marisa Kwiatkowski, USA TODAY, 9 Aug. 2021 The students allege that the teacher molested them between 2008 and 2010, but that school officials had reports of the teacher's inappropriate behavior dating back to 2003. Sonali Kohli, latimes.com, 24 May 2017
New York Times, 11 May 2022 Remember those palmy days when conservative conspiracy theorists outside elective politics spread the word that Democrats wanted to molest your children? Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 13 May 2022 He’d been victimized by Paul Shanley, who used to take kids to a Stoneham campsite and molest them there. BostonGlobe.com, 22 Sep. 2021 During that time, Nassar continued to molest young girls under the guise of of medical treatment. Marisa Kwiatkowski, USA TODAY, 9 Aug. 2021 The students allege that the teacher molested them between 2008 and 2010, but that school officials had reports of the teacher's inappropriate behavior dating back to 2003. Sonali Kohli, latimes.com, 24 May 2017 Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Anglo-French molester, from Latin molestare, from molestus burdensome, annoying; akin to Latin moles mass
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Kids Definition
molest
verb
mo·lest mə-ˈlest
molested; molesting
: to disturb or injure by interfering
Legal Definition
molest
transitive verb
mo·lest mə-ˈlest
1
: to annoy, disturb, or persecute especially with hostile intent or injurious effect
2
: to make annoying sexual advances to
specifically : to force physical and usually sexual contact on (as a child)
molests
verb
as in mistreats
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- mistreats
- violates
- harasses
- maltreats
- outrages
- brutalizes
- manhandles
- injures
- misuses
- tortures
- persecutes
- bullies
- torments
- abuses
- oppresses
- mishandles
- harms
- victimizes
- hurts
- ill-treats
- wrongs
- ill-uses
- messes over
- burns
- kicks around
- sandbags
- works (over)
- beats (up)
- roughs (up)
- messes (up)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- nurtures
- fosters
- cherishes
- cares (for)
- indulges
- babies
- pampers
- favors
- gratifies
- coddles
- caters (to)
- humors
- spoils
- mollycoddles