harassment
Americannoun
-
harassments
plural
-
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
Word Generation Weekly - Series 3
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Articles on Bullying
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Lincoln's Last Days
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Clark herself has repeatedly said she doesn’t want to be used this way, that harassment of any kind isn’t acceptable and that she stands with her Black colleagues in the league.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
The French government had promoted the ban as a way to better protect young people from the harmful effects associated with social media platforms, including anxiety, depression, sleep disorders and online harassment.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
While existing laws cover harassment and obstruction, they don’t reach the organized disruption that actually makes Americans feel afraid to enter their houses of worship.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Two further arrests were made, one on suspicion of using words or behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress, and one on suspicion of an immigration offence.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Dad: "Are we charged with some crime? This is harassment!"
From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements
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
“We have heard all the stories … about checkpoints, harassments, difficulties” and are “trying to work through those issues as best we can,” Sherman said at a State Department briefing.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 18, 2021
Amid the harassments of these demands, Franklin was much vexed by the conduct of Arthur Lee and Izard in drawing money for their own expenses.
From Benjamin Franklin by John T. (John Torrey) Morse
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.
