Niggling vs. Nagging — What's the Difference?

Annoying, troubling, or irritating in a petty way

Nagging, in interpersonal communication, is repetitious behaviour in the form of pestering, hectoring, harassing, or otherwise continuously urging an individual to complete previously discussed requests or act on advice. The word is derived from the Scandinavian nagga, which means "to gnaw".Reporter Elizabeth Bernstein defined, in a Wall Street Journal article, nagging as "the interaction in which one person repeatedly makes a request, the other person repeatedly ignores it and both become increasingly annoyed".

Present participle of niggle

To annoy by constant scolding, complaining, or urging.

Petty

To torment persistently, as with anxiety or pain.

Irritating.

To scold, complain, or find fault constantly

A small irritating sensation.

To be a constant source of anxiety or annoyance

Petty, trivial, or inconsequential.

One who nags.

Excessively demanding of time or attention; as, niggling little details.

Present participle of nag

Finicky or pottering work;

The action of the verb nag.

(informal terms) small and of little importance;

Causing persistent mild pain, or annoyance.

Fault-finding; teasing; persistently annoying; as, a nagging toothache.

Continually complaining or faultfinding;