harass

verb

ha·rass hə-ˈras

ˈher-əs,

ˈha-rəs

harassed; harassing; harasses

Synonyms of harass next

transitive verb

: exhaust, fatigue

I have been harassed with the toil of verse—

William Wordsworth

b(1)

: to annoy persistently

was harassing his younger brother

(2)

: to create an unpleasant or hostile situation for especially by uninvited and unwelcome verbal or physical conduct

was being harassed by her classmates

claims that the police were unfairly harassing him

: to worry and impede by repeated raids

harassed the enemy

harasser noun

harassment

hə-ˈras-mənt

ˈher-əs-

ˈha-rəs-

noun

Choose the Right Synonym for harass

worry, annoy, harass, harry, plague, pester, tease mean to disturb or irritate by persistent acts.

worry implies an incessant goading or attacking that drives one to desperation.

pursued a policy of worrying the enemy

annoy implies disturbing one's composure or peace of mind by intrusion, interference, or petty attacks.

you're doing that just to annoy me

harass implies petty persecutions or burdensome demands that exhaust one's nervous or mental power.

harassed on all sides by creditors

harry may imply heavy oppression or maltreatment.

the strikers had been harried by thugs

plague implies a painful and persistent affliction.

plagued all her life by poverty

pester stresses the repetition of petty attacks.

constantly pestered with trivial complaints

tease suggests an attempt to break down one's resistance or rouse to wrath.

children teased the dog

Examples of harass in a Sentence

She was constantly harassed by the other students. He claims that he is being unfairly harassed by the police.

Recent Examples on the Web After being hunted and harassed for hundreds of years, the North American beaver is poised to make a comeback in the Golden State, and its resurgence could help fight certain effects of climate change. —

Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2023 The renegade otter harassing surfers near Santa Cruz this summer might be emboldened because someone fed it. —

Dino Grandoni and Melina Mara, Anchorage Daily News, 11 Sep. 2023 The University of Alabama has addressed the acts of spectators who verbally and physically harassed Texas football players and their parents during Saturday night’s game. —

Nick Alvarez | Nalvarez@al.com, al, 11 Sep. 2023 The actor and Church of Scientology also face a civil case from the women, who claim that they have been harassed by members after reporting the rapes to law enforcement. —

Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Sep. 2023 Brooks was a primary defender on the Dallas Mavericks’ star, harassing him into a poor shooting game (8 for 20). —

oregonlive, 7 Sep. 2023 Scream | Official Trailer (HD) - Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Drew Barrymore | Miramax Watch on While grieving the death of her mother, Sidney (Neve Campbell) finds herself being harassed by a masked killer. —

Amy MacKelden, ELLE, 6 Sep. 2023 In the early 2000s, Regina George in Mean Girls personified the calculating bully who used verbal abuse and social isolation to harass other students. —

Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 5 Sep. 2023 As the dragnet continued, police later arrested Stennett on stalking charges that accused him of harassing Jordan earlier this year. —

Cory Shaffer, cleveland, 31 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'harass.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

French harasser, from Middle French, from harer to set a dog on, from Old French hare, interjection used to incite dogs, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German hier here — more at here

First Known Use

1617, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler

The first known use of harass was in 1617

See more words from the same year