harass

tr.v., -rassed, -rass·ing, -rass·es.

1. To irritate or torment persistently.
2. To wear out; exhaust.
3. To impede and exhaust (an enemy) by repeated attacks or raids.

[French harasser, possibly from Old French harer, to set a dog on, from hare, interj. used to set a dog on, of Germanic origin.]

harasser ha·rass'er n.
harassment ha·rass'ment n.

SYNONYMS   harass, harry, hound, badger, pester, plague. These verbs mean to trouble persistently or incessantly. Harass and harry imply systematic persecution by besieging with repeated annoyances, threats, or demands: The landlord harassed tenants who were behind in their rent. A rude customer had harried the storekeeper. Hound suggests unrelenting pursuit to gain a desired end: Reporters hounded the celebrity for an interview. To badger is to nag or tease persistently: The child badgered his parents for a new bicycle. To pester is to inflict a succession of petty annoyances: "How she would have pursued and pestered me with questions and surmises" (Charlotte Brontë). Plague refers to a problem likened to an epidemic disease: "As I have no estate, I am plagued with no tenants or stewards" (Henry Fielding).

USAGE NOTE   Educated usage appears to be evenly divided on the pronunciation of harass. In our 1987 survey 50 percent of the Usage Panel preferred stressing the first syllable, while 50 percent preferred stressing the second. Curiously, the Panelists' comments appear to indicate that each side regards itself as an embattled minority.

verb

1. To trouble persistently from or as if from all sides: badger, bedevil, beleaguer, beset, besiege, harry, hound, importune, pester, plague, solicit. See attack/defend.
2. To disturb by repeated attacks: annoy, bait, bedevil, beleaguer, beset, harry, pester, plague, tease, torment, worry. See feelings, pain/pleasure.

v

Definition: badger
Antonyms: aid, assist, facilitate, help, support

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v. make repeated small-scale attacks on (an enemy): the squadron's task was to harass the retreating enemy forces.

harasser n. harassingly adv. harassment n.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

IN BRIEF: To annoy with repeated attacks.

One thing that I do not like about cats is that they harass birds.

Common misspelling(s) of harasses

• harrases
• harases

Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - pine, plage, chikanere

Nederlands (Dutch)
bestoken, afmatten, lastig vallen, kwellen

Français (French)
v. tr. - harceler, contrarier

Deutsch (German)
v. - schikanieren

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - παρενοχλώ, (παρα)σκοτίζω, βασανίζω, ταλανίζω, ταλαιπωρώ

Italiano (Italian)
bersagliare con continui attacchi, molestare

Português (Portuguese)
v. - molestar

Русский (Russian)
беспокоить, изнурять, утомлять

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - acosar, hostigar, hostilizar, atormentar, agobiar

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - trakassera, jäkta, oroa

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
使烦恼, 烦扰, 不断骚扰

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 使煩惱, 煩擾, 不斷騷擾

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - 괴롭히다, 지긋지긋하게 굴다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 悩ます, 苦しめる, 繰り返し攻撃する

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يزعج بغارات متكررة, يرهق, ينهك, يضايق باستمرار‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮הטריד, הציק‬

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