ha·rass
(hə-răs′, hăr′əs)tr.v. ha·rassed, ha·rass·ing, ha·rass·es
1. To subject (another) to hostile or prejudicial remarks or actions; pressure or intimidate.
2. To irritate or torment persistently: His mind was harassed by doubts and misgivings.
3. To make repeated attacks or raids on (an enemy, for example).
[French harasser, from Old French (a la) harache, (a la) harace (as in courre a la harache, to chase) : hare, call used to set dogs on (of Germanic origin; see ko- in Indo-European roots) + -ache, -ace, deprecative n. suff.]
ha·rass′er n.
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 the tenants who were behind in their rent. "John Adams and John Quincy Adams, pillars of personal rectitude, were harried throughout their presidencies by accusations of corruption, fraud, and abuses of power" (Alan Brinkley and Davis Dyer).
Hound suggests unrelenting pursuit to gain a desired end: Reporters hounded the celebrity for an interview. To badger is to nag or entreat 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 a noxious disease: "As I have no estate, I am plagued with no tenants or stewards" (Henry Fielding).
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 the tenants who were behind in their rent. "John Adams and John Quincy Adams, pillars of personal rectitude, were harried throughout their presidencies by accusations of corruption, fraud, and abuses of power" (Alan Brinkley and Davis Dyer).
Hound suggests unrelenting pursuit to gain a desired end: Reporters hounded the celebrity for an interview. To badger is to nag or entreat 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 a noxious disease: "As I have no estate, I am plagued with no tenants or stewards" (Henry Fielding).
Usage Note: The pronunciation of harass with stress on the first syllable (rhyming roughly with Paris) is the older, traditional pronunciation. The pronunciation with stress on the second syllable (rhyming roughly with surpass) is a newer pronunciation that first occurred in American English. Its use has steadily increased since the mid-1900s. In our 1987 survey, 50 percent of the Usage Panel preferred the pronunciation with stress on the first syllable, and 50 percent preferred stress on the second syllable. Fourteen years later, in our 2001 survey, preference for stress on the first syllable dropped to 30 percent while preference for stress on the second syllable rose to 70 percent. The results from our 2013 survey suggest that this trend away from the traditional pronunciation has continued: only 10 percent preferred the stress on the first syllable, whereas 90 percent preferred the pronunciation with the stress on the second syllable. In fact, in 2013, 35 percent of the Panel considered the pronunciation with the stress on the first syllable to be unacceptable. The original pronunciation has almost completely given way in only a few decades, at least in the United States.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
| Adj. | 1. |  harassed - troubled persistently especially with petty annoyances; "harassed working mothers"; "a harried expression"; "her poor pestered father had to endure her constant interruptions"; "the vexed parents of an unruly teenager"troubled - characterized by or indicative of distress or affliction or danger or need; "troubled areas"; "fell into a troubled sleep"; "a troubled expression"; "troubled teenagers" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
harassed
adjective hassled, worried, troubled, strained, harried, under pressure, plagued, tormented, distraught (informal), vexed, under stress, careworn Looking harassed and drawn, he tendered his resignation.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
مُتَضايِق
ztrápený
mishandlet
hrjáîur; áreittur; kvalinn
utrápený
bezmiştedirgin
harassed
[ˈhærəst] ADJ (= exhausted) → agobiado; (= under pressure) → presionadoto look harassed → parecer agobiado
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
harassed
adj → abgespannt, angegriffen, mitgenommen; (= worried) → von Sorgen gequält; a harassed father → ein (viel) geplagter Vater; she was very harassed that day → an dem Tag wusste sie nicht, wo ihr der Kopf stand; he wiped his brow in a harassed manner → er wischte sich (dat) → gequält die Stirn
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
harassed
[ˈhærəst] adj (under attack) → tormentato/a; (troubled) → assillato/a; (under pressure) → stressato/ayou look harassed → hai una faccia sconvolta
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
harass
(ˈhӕrəs) , ((especially American) həˈras) verb1. to annoy or trouble (a person) constantly or frequently. The children have been harassing me all morning.
2. to make frequent sudden attacks on (an enemy). The army was constantly harassed by groups of terrorists.
ˈharassed adjectivea harassed mother.
ˈharassment nounHe complained of harassment by the police.
sexual harassmentsexKernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.