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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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
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
In 2022, Rydman found himself at the center of a police probe when a 17-year-old girl reported that a politician had been harassing girls aged 14 to 17 for years, according to Sykes, citing a report in the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat (HS).
—Martha Ross, Mercury News, 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
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
In 2022, Rydman found himself at the center of a police probe when a 17-year-old girl reported that a politician had been harassing girls aged 14 to 17 for years, according to Sykes, citing a report in the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat (HS).
—Martha Ross, Mercury News, 19 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harassing
Adjective
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What began as a quiet evening quickly turned frightening after the couple climbed onto the jetty rocks to look for shells and crabs.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
11 June 2026
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By the time of The Social Reckoning, a website that was once used to rate the attractiveness of women has gone on to disrupt global politics on a frightening scale.—
Brianna Zigler,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 June 2026
Adjective
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That particularly could be annoying to Uruguay supporters, given Messi’s stature in the sport overall and in particular with defending champion Argentina, La Celeste’s biggest rival.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
16 June 2026
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It’s widely considered rude and annoying when people cluster by the train doors if there are more people on the platform attempting to get on.—
Claudia Fisher,
Travel + Leisure,
15 June 2026
Verb
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Tom then explains the actual Trolley Problem, the philosophical debate about having to choose whether to pull a lever that will prevent a runaway trolley from killing multiple people, but will still result in the death of a single person.—
Jen Chaney,
Vulture,
17 June 2026
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But the Israeli military has yet to fully stop hostilities, killing at least four people in separate strikes Tuesday on Lebanon, according to Lebanese state media.—
Kevin Liptak,
CNN Money,
17 June 2026
Adjective
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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
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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
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The whole event was lousy with pestiferous Bible-banging.—
Charles P. Pierce,
Esquire,
12 Dec. 2017
Verb
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Wilson shared a video of herself shooting a gun while dressed in her bikini shirt, as well as one of her sipping on a cocktail while sitting on part of the boat wearing the shirt, a visor and a statement necklace.—
Lori A Bashian,
FOXNews.com,
14 June 2026
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Another, wearing a plain white T-shirt, sat hunched inside, watching someone climb past his apartment window.—
Antonio Ferme,
Variety,
14 June 2026
Adjective
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Unlike a pitcher of drinks that need ice or a bottle of wine that requires chilling, freezer door cocktails give you a perfectly ice-cold summer cocktail ready to pour at a moment's notice.—
Cameron Beall,
Southern Living,
13 June 2026
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For anyone planning a 30-year retirement, that is a chilling statistic.—
Chris Kline,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2026
Adjective
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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
-
Kone, who has no shortage of positive childlike qualities himself, grew super inquisitive.—
Joshua Kloke,
New York Times,
12 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Harassing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harassing. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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