to disturb or annoy by malevolent interference to accost or attack, esp with the intention of assaulting sexually
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
mo•lest /məˈlɛst/USA pronunciation
v. [~ + object]
mo•lest•er, n. [countable]mandatory prison for child molesters.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- to bother or annoy:The bully always molested him when he walked home from school.
- to make indecent sexual advances to:molesting children in a day-care center.
mo•lest•er, n. [countable]mandatory prison for child molesters.
mo•lest
(mə lest′),USA pronunciation v.t.
mo•les•ta•tion
(mō′le stā′shən, mol′e-),USA pronunciation n.
mo•lest′er, n.
mo•lest′ful, adj.
molest, +v.t.
- to bother, interfere with, or annoy.
- to make indecent sexual advances to.
- to assault sexually.
- Latin molestāre to irk, derivative of molestus irksome; compare mōlēs mass, burden, trouble
- 1325–75; Middle English molesten
mo•lest′ful, adj.
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged harass, harry, trouble, plague, hector, torment. See attack.
molest, +v.t.
-
- to assault sexually.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'molest' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):