bait

n.

bait

v.

1. To provide with a lure

   set, furnish, cover, charge.

2. To torment

   badger, harass, goad, hound, nag, tease, torment, hector, heckle, worry, persecute, beleaguer, anger, ride*, needle*, pick on*; see also bother 2.

3. To lure

   entice, attract, draw; see deceive, fascinate, seduce, tempt.

to bait is to harass or goad, as with repeated, unprovoked attacks, insults, or derision, and implies that the persecutor gets malicious pleasure from the act; to badger is to pester so persistently as to bring to a state of confusion or wear down; to hound is to pursue or attack relentlessly until the victim succumbs he was hounded out of office; heckle denotes the persistent questioning and taunting of a public speaker so as to annoy or confuse; hector implies a continual bullying or nagging in order to intimidate or break down resistance; torment, in this comparison, suggests continued harassment so as to cause acute suffering tormented by her memories; ride is colloquial and implies harassment or teasing by ridiculing, criticizing, etc. they were riding the rookie unmercifully from the dugout