1
as in frightening
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2
as in annoying
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as in killing
to use up all the physical energy of
had been visibly harassed by the demands of the presidency
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of harassing
Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 1 Jan. 2026
The line is crossed when someone’s conduct at work becomes disrespectful, harassing, intimidating, discriminatory, or disruptive to the team.
—Johnny C. Taylor Jr, USA Today, 30 Dec. 2025
David Denby, New Yorker, 21 June 2026
The mayor’s social media message follows multiple incidents involving Knicks fans harassing Spurs supporters, some of which escalated into physical violence.
—Chantz Martin Outkick, FOXNews.com, 13 June 2026
Police accused Andrea Bucci of harassing a 16-year-old youth ice hockey referee over a call during a game in July 2025.
—Ricky Sayer, CBS News, 6 June 2026
In a press release last September, the DOJ announced that a 68-year-old Santa Monica man, Gregory John Curcio, was charged with doxing and harassing an ICE lawyer.
—Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 29 May 2026
And sure enough, that account had been harassing a six-year-old girl.
—Lyz Lenz, Rolling Stone, 28 May 2026
The people whose few belongings were being arbitrarily picked up and thrown by a crane into the trash were not harassing staff.
—Chicago Tribune, 24 May 2026
In an official rebuke of a private citizen, the Riverside City Council accused one of its residents of harassing local employees through phone calls, emails and social media posts.
—Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2026
Prior to his loss, Jelincic was accused of harassing women who worked for CalPERS and encouraged to drop out of the race by several state officials.
—William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 19 May 2026
Adjective
The first complaint, in which a clerk made similar accusations of abusive and harassing conduct, was filed with the circuit court in 2022, not long after Merriam’s appointment.
—Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 1 Jan. 2026
The line is crossed when someone’s conduct at work becomes disrespectful, harassing, intimidating, discriminatory, or disruptive to the team.
—Johnny C. Taylor Jr, USA Today, 30 Dec. 2025
Verb
In Ithaca, the suitors have been eating up Odysseus’ livestock and harassing his wife for years.
—David Denby, New Yorker, 21 June 2026
The mayor’s social media message follows multiple incidents involving Knicks fans harassing Spurs supporters, some of which escalated into physical violence.
—Chantz Martin Outkick, FOXNews.com, 13 June 2026
Police accused Andrea Bucci of harassing a 16-year-old youth ice hockey referee over a call during a game in July 2025.
—Ricky Sayer, CBS News, 6 June 2026
In a press release last September, the DOJ announced that a 68-year-old Santa Monica man, Gregory John Curcio, was charged with doxing and harassing an ICE lawyer.
—Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 29 May 2026
And sure enough, that account had been harassing a six-year-old girl.
—Lyz Lenz, Rolling Stone, 28 May 2026
The people whose few belongings were being arbitrarily picked up and thrown by a crane into the trash were not harassing staff.
—Chicago Tribune, 24 May 2026
In an official rebuke of a private citizen, the Riverside City Council accused one of its residents of harassing local employees through phone calls, emails and social media posts.
—Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2026
Prior to his loss, Jelincic was accused of harassing women who worked for CalPERS and encouraged to drop out of the race by several state officials.
—William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 19 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harassing
Adjective
-
Earlier movie versions have managed the story’s most frightening moments with the limited technology available at the time—much plastic and spongy stuff; monsters in process shots looming over little men; papier-mâché boulders flung from hilltops.—
David Denby,
New Yorker,
21 June 2026
-
Even more frightening, the percentage exceeded 50% in many groups, including insects, terrestrial vertebrates, and marine species.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
21 June 2026
Adjective
-
Scam texts are annoying for everyone.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
22 June 2026
-
Others have blamed everything from feminism and long work commutes to annoying kiddy car seats.—
Tom Deignan,
New York Daily News,
21 June 2026
Verb
-
In January 2024, Mansfield confessed to killing 18-year-old Carol Ann Barrett more than four decades earlier.—
Greg Wehner,
FOXNews.com,
24 June 2026
-
He is accused of killing a man on March 13, 2022, Broward court records show.—
Sofia Saric
June 23,
Miami Herald,
24 June 2026
Adjective
-
For example, Americans living during World War II developed persecutory delusions involving Germans, while those living during the Cold War focused on communists.—
Alaina Vandervoort Burns,
The Conversation,
17 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Structured as entries in Emily’s field journal, the novel lays out her aims, her curmudgeonly nature and her pestiferous relationship with one Wendell Bambleby — a charismatic fellow researcher and sometime rival who Emily suspects is a fairy himself.—
Amal El-Mohtar,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 2023
-
The whole event was lousy with pestiferous Bible-banging.—
Charles P. Pierce,
Esquire,
12 Dec. 2017
Verb
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As an adult, Aemond is vicious, tactical and easily identifiable by wearing an eye patch over a blue glass ball where his eye used to be.—
Skyler Trepel,
PEOPLE,
22 June 2026
-
The offender is described as an African-American man between 40-45 years of age, weighing 180-200 pounds, and was last seen wearing a gray/black baseball cap, a light blue shirt, gray pants, and black gym shoes.—
Jeramie Bizzle,
CBS News,
22 June 2026
Adjective
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Some human rights experts have said that detaining such a high-ranking and high-profile doctor has left a chilling effect.—
Mary Kekatos,
ABC News,
20 June 2026
-
The commemoration this year highlights a trend toward a chilling erasure of history, culture and achievements of African-Americans.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
19 June 2026
Adjective
-
Most episodes follow the inquisitive young Phineas teaming up with his quiet stepbrother, Ferb, in their constant quest to avoid boredom on summer vacation.—
Christian Holub,
Entertainment Weekly,
21 June 2026
-
The tools—the ability to automate data production, analyze large datasets, and gain insights faster and faster, married to the number and complexity of challenges, makes now a very rich time to be inquisitive.—
Tara Haelle,
Scientific American,
16 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Harassing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harassing. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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