heckle

verb

heck·​le ˈhe-kəl 

heckled; heckling ˈhe-k(ə-)liŋ 

transitive verb

: to harass and try to disconcert with questions, challenges, or gibes : badger

Synonyms

• bait
• hassle
• haze
• needle
• ride
• taunt
• tease

Choose the Right Synonym for heckle

bait, badger, heckle, hector, chivy, hound mean to harass by efforts to break down.

bait implies wanton cruelty or delight in persecuting a helpless victim.

baited the chained dog

badger implies pestering so as to drive a person to confusion or frenzy.

badgered her father for a car

heckle implies persistent annoying or belligerent interruptions of a speaker.

drunks heckled the stand-up comic

hector carries an implication of bullying and domineering.

football players hectored by their coach

chivy suggests persecution by teasing or nagging.

chivied the new student mercilessly

hound implies unrelenting pursuit and harassing.

hounded by creditors

Examples of heckle in a Sentence

Several protesters were heckling the speaker at the rally.

The players were being heckled by the fans.

People in the crowd were booing and heckling as she tried to speak.

Recent Examples on the Web

During World Series Game 4, before the bungle with Betts, a fan chose a Stand Up to Cancer moment of silence to heckle Dodgers' player Freddie Freeman. —Felecia Wellington Radel, USA TODAY, 2 Nov. 2024

In August, during a swing through Michigan, a battleground state with the nation's largest American-Arab population, Harris was heckled by pro-Palestinian protesters. —Nina Turner, Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2024

The nine-day visit included some protests, particularly in Australia, when Charles was heckled on Monday, Oct. 21 by Indigenous lawmaker Lidia Thorpe at Parliament House in Canberra. —Rachel Burchfield, People.com, 28 Oct. 2024

The Jewish Museum brought the drawings to New York, where Zoya occasioned a story in The New York Times, among other outlets, not on account of her artwork, exactly, but because she was heckled and did something unusual in response. —Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 5 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English hekelen to dress flax, scratch, from heckele hackle; akin to Old High German hāko hook — more at hook

First Known Use

circa 1825, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

heckle

verb

heck·​le ˈhek-əl 

heckled; heckling -(ə-)liŋ 

: to interrupt with questions or comments usually with the intention of annoying or hindering

were heckling the speaker

heckler

-(ə-)lər 

noun