Showing results for picking on. Search instead for picking+bone.

picking on

VERB

nag, provoke

Synonyms

WEAK

badger bait blame bully carp cavil criticize find fault foment get at get to goad hector incite instigate quibble start tease torment

Antonyms

WEAK

compliment praise

VERB

nag

Synonyms

STRONGEST

badger bully get at tease torment

WEAK

bait blame carp cavil criticize find fault foment get to goad hector incite instigate pick at provoke quibble start

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Morgan might think that she’s evolved past certain things and then the minute she’s codependent with her sister, they devolve back into the bratty kid-like versions of themselves that are like picking on each other.

From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2026

Wallace said that at the time, his mother called him to ask why people were "picking on him".

From BBC • Apr. 25, 2025

The ETF market can also be mean, picking on specific people.

From Slate • Apr. 22, 2025

He told the officers they would “regret picking on me because you don’t know who … I am.”

From Seattle Times • Dec. 22, 2023

It was a miracle Vonetta made it from New Jersey to Atlanta without picking on Fern, and a bigger miracle that Fern’s watch still hung from her puny wrist.

From "Gone Crazy in Alabama" by Rita Williams-Garcia