harassed; harassing; harasses
1
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
2
: to worry and impede by repeated raids
harassed the enemy
harasser
noun
Synonyms
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
The Pages revealed Dylan subjected Ashley to relentless harassing death threats and threatening verbal abuse, including up to 70 text messages a day at times.
—
Stepheny Price, Fox News, 18 Apr. 2024
But in the months afterwards, Maduro's government harassed and arrested opposition figures and barred the opposition's candidate Maria Corina Machado, who overwhelmingly won the primary, from running for office.
—Conor Finnegan, ABC News, 17 Apr. 2024
Robinson says that while people can build communities and make friends in these spaces, people can still be harassed.
—Julia Gomez, USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
When Mia starts to receive a barrage of degrading texts, as a protective mother,
Madelyn is determined to find out who is harassing her daughter and will do anything to help her, bringing them closer together again.
—Lawrence Yee, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2024
It’s been used to mislead and harass people and to spread propaganda.
—Shira Ovide, Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2024
Jonathan Majors was sentenced to a 52-week domestic-abuse prevention program on Monday, after being convicted in December of recklessly assaulting and harassing his ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari.
—Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 8 Apr. 2024
In late April of 2019, someone posted the deputies’ addresses on social media, and they were harassed for weeks, with more than 100 threats that were investigated, the filing says.
—Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2024
Oh, and there was also a bird mascot named Tori, who would prance onstage and harass them every half hour.
—Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 3 Apr. 2024
Stepheny Price, Fox News, 18 Apr. 2024
But in the months afterwards, Maduro's government harassed and arrested opposition figures and barred the opposition's candidate Maria Corina Machado, who overwhelmingly won the primary, from running for office.
—Conor Finnegan, ABC News, 17 Apr. 2024
Robinson says that while people can build communities and make friends in these spaces, people can still be harassed.
—Julia Gomez, USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
When Mia starts to receive a barrage of degrading texts, as a protective mother,
Madelyn is determined to find out who is harassing her daughter and will do anything to help her, bringing them closer together again.
—Lawrence Yee, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2024
It’s been used to mislead and harass people and to spread propaganda.
—Shira Ovide, Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2024
Jonathan Majors was sentenced to a 52-week domestic-abuse prevention program on Monday, after being convicted in December of recklessly assaulting and harassing his ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari.
—Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 8 Apr. 2024
In late April of 2019, someone posted the deputies’ addresses on social media, and they were harassed for weeks, with more than 100 threats that were investigated, the filing says.
—Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2024
Oh, and there was also a bird mascot named Tori, who would prance onstage and harass them every half hour.
—Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 3 Apr. 2024
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.
Dictionary Entries Near harass
Cite this Entry
“Harass.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/harass. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Legal Definition
harass
transitive verb
ha·rass
hə-ˈras, ˈhar-əs 
: to subject persistently and wrongfully to annoying, offensive, or troubling behavior
a collection agency harassing a debtor
see also sexual harassment
harasser
noun
harassment
noun
Etymology
Middle French harasser to exhaust, fatigue, from harer to set a dog on, from Old French hare, interjection used to incite dogs
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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