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

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

She said until the media showed up in force Thursday, ICE agents had been harassing, scaring, and shooting at protesters with these kinds of crowd control devices.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Describing the toll the alleged stalking had on the family, Ms McCann added: "My mum found it the hardest and was harassed by Julia more than the rest of us."

Read more on BBC

And while Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has avoided major corruption scandals in its 11 years in power, it has done little to curb predatory officials who harass ordinary people.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"But what is completely unacceptable is to seek to harass and intimate politicians in their homes, and that is exactly what happened last night."

Read more on BBC

She then reported him to Warwickshire Police, alleging that he had stalked, intimidated, harassed and controlled her.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

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