harass

[ huh-ras, har-uhs ]

verb (used with object)

1. to disturb or bother persistently; torment, as with troubles or cares; pester:

   He stays up late, harassed with doubt and anxiety.

   Synonyms: annoy, hector, plague, vex, badger

2. to intimidate or coerce, as with persistent demands or threats:

   Apparently a parent has been harassing the school principal with late-night phone calls.

3. to subject to unwelcome sexual advances:

   I was harassed by my boss many years ago.

4. to trouble by repeated attacks, incursions, etc., as in war or hostilities; harry; raid.

   Synonyms: beset, besiege

harass

/ ˈhærəs; həˈræs /

verb

1. tr to trouble, torment, or confuse by continual persistent attacks, questions, etc

Pronunciation Note

harass , a 17th-century borrowing from French, has traditionally been pronounced in English as [har, -, uh, s], with stress on the first syllable. A newer pronunciation, [h, uh, -, ras], has developed in North American (but not British) English and has become the more common one in the U.S., especially among younger speakers.

Derived Forms

• ˈharassing, adjectivenoun
• ˈharassment, noun
• ˈharassed, adjective

Other Words From

• ha·rassa·ble adjective
• ha·rasser noun
• ha·rassing·ly adverb
• ha·rassment noun
• over·harass verb (used with object)
• un·ha·rassed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of harass¹

First recorded in 1610–20; from French, Middle French harasser “to harry, harass,” verbal derivative of harace, harache (in phrase courre a la harace “pursue”), equivalent to hare “cry used to urge dogs on” (from Frankish hara (unattested) “here, from this side”; compare Old High German hera, Middle Dutch hare ) + -asse augmentative or pejorative suffix, from Latin -ācea

Word History and Origins

Origin of harass¹

C17: from French harasser, variant of Old French harer to set a dog on, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German harēn to cry out

Synonym Study

See worry.

Example Sentences

Owning a restaurant, the EEOC attorney admonished at the time, “is not a license to sexually harass employees.”

From The Daily Beast

Women are coming together online to shame men who harass and abuse them.

From The Daily Beast

But airstrikes now would only serve to harass, not defeat, ISIS.

From The Daily Beast

We may not be able to stop men from wanting to harass women but Internet technologies can easily be rebuilt.

From The Daily Beast

The poster asked people to harass Zelich by cellphone and email.

From The Daily Beast

Oh, madame, I tell you you do but waste time, and you punish me and harass yourself to little purpose.

From Project Gutenberg

Tempest thee noght, do not violently trouble or harass thyself, do not be in a state of agitation.

From Project Gutenberg

His low cunning invents numerous occasions to mortify and harass me.

From Project Gutenberg

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers, to harass our people and eat out their substance.

From Project Gutenberg

In this as in former wars she sent out her privateers to harass the enemys commerce.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• burn
• hassle
• heckle
• hound
• intimidate
• persecute
• pester
• raid
• tease
• torment