Learn English – A word for someone asking too many questions..

single-word-requests

I'm typing an email, well my 3rd to the same person, where I've been asking one question after another instead of putting all of them in a single email. I'm very much entitled to ask questions and the other person (not a team, an individual) is obligated to answer them. But I just want to be polite this time and say, "I don't want to be a ____ but there is this other question" or something to that effect. Help?

PS: It is not that I'm asking a question on top of the previous' response, I just think of a new question to ask in the same context.

Best Answer

Pest is the word I immediately thought of, but it is probably too strong. Pest is defined by Dictionary.com as:

  1. an annoying or troublesome person, animal, or thing; nuisance.

  2. an insect or other small animal that harms or destroys garden plants, trees, etc.

  3. a deadly epidemic disease, especially a plague; pestilence

I suspect Defintion #1 was derived from one of the other two, probably #3 --pestilence -- but I would need to do the research to be sure.

nuisance is a better word for your situation. From Merriam-Webster

a person, thing, or situation that is annoying or that causes trouble or problems

Two example sentences from Merriam-Webster:

the new neighbor is threatening to become a nuisance, dropping in on us several times a day

folding up this map correctly is such a nuisance

Pest is a stronger word than nuisance. I suggest you use nuisance or the phrase suggested by @Rathony "I'm sorry for bothering you again".

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