harassing 1 of 2

Definition of harassingnext

harassing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of harass

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of harassing
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
Gloria said her ex-boyfriend had been following and harassing her. Paul Larosa, CBS News, 3 May 2026 He was cleared of harassing Brooks on social media. ABC News, 1 May 2026 Andrew Tollinche, 22, was fending off a group of teens harassing him outside his apartment building on Beach Ave. Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 1 May 2026 The girl’s mother is pleading with social media users to stop harassing the man. Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2026 Multiple vehicles soon arrived, and people began harassing and chasing federal agents onto the highway, an encounter Alvarez-Gonzalez filmed himself. Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 29 Apr. 2026 Things continued to get messy between the pair as the Bronx native alleged that her estranged husband had been stalking and harassing her amid their divorce, during a March 29 live X Spaces conversation. Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 27 Apr. 2026 As a whole, Minnesota’s lengthy, harassing defense is causing Denver issues. Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 24 Apr. 2026 Prosecutors accused 37-year-old James Strahler of creating more than 700 non-consensual images and videos of adult women and minors, harassing the women with phone calls, messages and online postings. Greta Cross, USA Today, 23 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harassing
Adjective
  • Late on against Newcastle, Rutter beat two players on the left with a frightening burst of pace and set up Minteh, only for the 21-year-old to blast over an empty net.
    Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 4 May 2026
  • Dash camera video showed the frightening moment when a wheel from a United Airlines plane slammed into a bakery delivery truck that was traveling on the New Jersey Turnpike.
    Clara McMichael, ABC News, 4 May 2026
Adjective
  • There was noticeable and annoying lag and sluggishness in the Windows desktop and Windows Explorer, not even counting Chrome or Office, with apps taking some 10 seconds to even open.
    BestReviews, Mercury News, 4 May 2026
  • The Hawks want to be a scrappy, tough, annoying team to play against.
    Kalen Lumpkins, Chicago Tribune, 4 May 2026
Verb
  • On Saturday, Moscow pummeled the central city of Dnipro and other areas for more than twenty hours with barrages of missiles and drones, killing at least seven people.
    Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2026
  • The coastal Georgia man arrested in 2018 and accused of torturing, killing and burying his two teenage children in the backyard of the family’s mobile home will spend the rest of his life behind bars after reaching a plea deal.
    Adam Van Brimmer, AJC.com, 28 Apr. 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
  • Mira arrived with her friends, wearing the pink dress and a pair of Air Force 1s.
    Anna Wiener, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
  • Graham kept the rest of the styling pared down, wearing soft waves, hoop earrings and carrying a small metallic clutch.
    Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 3 May 2026
Adjective
  • Advocates see it as a way to send a chilling message to immigrant communities and make more people vulnerable to deportation.
    Rebecca Santana, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
  • But the reality of the series is more chilling.
    Troy Renck, Denver Post, 1 May 2026
Adjective
  • And later, the inquisitive head of a couple of snappers (don’t point too close) draws multiple onlookers on the boardwalk, which is sometimes eerily deserted but sometimes requires single-file trekking.
    Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 29 Apr. 2026
  • Despite his detractors, Kempthorne remained inquisitive and open to conversation, and also prone to an independent streak, Rick Johnson, former longtime executive director of the Idaho Conservation League, told the Idaho Statesman.
    Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 25 Apr. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Harassing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harassing. Accessed 9 May. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on harassing

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster