A troll is someone who deliberately posts offensive or provocative messages online to make people angry, get attention or start a row; the word is also used for such a comment itself. The verb troll means to do this. The word is ordinary and appears in the news, so you can say online trolls in IELTS Speaking and write it in an essay about social media; but calling the person you're talking to a troll is a direct accusation.
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an (internet) troll; troll + person (verb); be trolling + person; Don't feed the trolls.
- Just ignore that comment, it's obviously a troll trying to start a fight.
- Some troll keeps posting spoilers under every trailer for the show.
- Relax, he's not serious, he's just trolling you in the comments.
What changed
First versionStop to troll me in the comments, everyone can see it!
RevisionStop trolling me in the comments, everyone can see it!
Stop to troll me would mean stopping what you're doing in order to troll me, because stop to do something means to stop in order to do it. To ask someone to quit an activity, use the -ing form after stop: stop trolling.
A troll and a hater aren't the same. A hater genuinely and constantly criticises someone or something, while a troll may have no opinion at all: they just want a reaction. That's where the advice Don't feed the trolls comes from: don't reply to them.
Your turn
He posts 'the earth is flat' under every science video just to see who will start arguing. Don't reply, he's a ___.
Show the answer
troll — He posts the same thing under every video just to get someone to argue, and that's exactly a troll's goal: a troll. A hater genuinely criticises what they dislike, while this person only wants a reaction.
Write a message to a friend with advice on how to react to a nasty comment under her post. Say what the troll wrote.
Some troll wrote that your cake looks like a brick. Just delete it and don't reply, he wants attention.
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