harassment
Americannoun
-
harassments
plural
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an act or instance of harassing; torment, vexation, or intimidation.
daily harassment by bullies at school;
the harassments of daily life.
-
the condition or fact of being harassed.
the stress of harassment and discrimination.
Pronunciation
See harass.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of harassment
Explanation
If someone is abusing, insulting, or otherwise harming you on a regular basis, it's called harassment. Cruel and usually really annoying, harassment is also illegal in some cases. Harassment is a word that describes any kind of ongoing torment. At school, harassment is often known as bullying. In the workplace, employees need to be careful about sexual harassment. Harassment involves persistent attacks or abuse, and can range from shouting racial slurs to crank calling your ex-boyfriend every night at 3am. Even teasing your kid sister about her braces could be considered harassment.
Vocabulary lists containing harassment
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Articles on Bullying
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Lincoln's Last Days
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The harassment allegations were made after police detained scores of protesters around the government-designated protest site of Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Saturday.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
Additional research highlighted systemic barriers experienced by women coaches, including bullying, harassment and unequal opportunities.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
Gov. Mikie Sherrill asked him to step down when an independent investigation found he committed sexual harassment and ethical violations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
The Latin Grammy-winning artist has long championed feminist causes and challenged sexual harassment in the entertainment industry — a topic central to her 2024 Netflix documentary, “Mon Laferte, Te Amo.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
Dad: "Are we charged with some crime? This is harassment!"
From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements
Japan’s Foreign Ministry issued a travel advisory on Sunday urging Japanese citizens to use extra caution in China, citing an escalation of harassments and violent protests over the discharge of the wastewater.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 30, 2023
Between May and November 2022, she added, the number of reported harassments jumped to 14, with no assaults reported.
From Science Magazine ● Apr. 5, 2023
The United States and the European Union called for a free and fair election in separate statements, and raised concerns over reports of harassments and intimidation of the opposition and civil society groups.
From Reuters ● Nov. 20, 2022
"Comments with personally identifiable information, harassments, or other violations will be removed."
From Salon ● Dec. 27, 2021
In allusion to the wonderful tranquillity of mind which Napoleon retained in the midst of all harassments, disasters, and perils, he remarked.
From Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol 1-98, 1850-1899 None by Various (magazine) Harper
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
