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 , with stress on the first syllable. A newer pronunciation, , has developed in North American (but not British) English and has become the more common one in the U.S., especially among younger speakers.

Other Word Forms

• harassable adjective
• harasser noun
• harassingly adverb
• harassment noun
• overharass verb (used with object)
• unharassed adjective
• harassing adjective
• harassed 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

A 1971 law declared wild horses and burros “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West,” and made it illegal to harass, capture or kill them on public lands.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Opposition politicians and activists are often jailed and harassed in Cambodia, where authorities have little tolerance for political dissent.

Read more on BBC

La migra regularly harass U.S. citizens even after they’ve offered proof of residency and have ignored court-ordered restraining orders banning them from targeting people because of their ethnicity.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

At the ground level, thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of private citizens act as self-appointed KGB agents, poking their nose into other people’s business and publicly denouncing them to get them fired or otherwise harassed.

Read more on Salon

There are the highs of fame and the lows of being harassed by internet strangers.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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