harass
1harass — ha·rass /hə ras, har əs/ vt [Middle French harasser to exhaust, fatigue, from harer to set a dog on, from Old French hare, interjection used to incite dogs]: to subject persistently and wrongfully to annoying, offensive, or troubling behavior a… …
2harass — harass·ing; harass·ing·ly; harass·ment; harass; …
3Harass — Har ass (h[a^]r as or h[.a]*r[a^]s ), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Harassed} (h[a^]r ast or h[.a]*r[a^]st ); p. pr. & vb. n. {Harassing}.] [F. harasser; cf. OF. harace a basket made of cords, harace, harasse,a very heavy and large shield; or harer to set …
4harass — UK US /ˈhærəs/, /həˈræs/ verb [T] ► to repeatedly annoy or upset someone over a period of time: »A university psychology professor has been arrested on accusations of using email to harass and torment employees at the school. be harrassed by sb… …
5harass — ► VERB 1) torment (someone) by subjecting them to constant interference or intimidation. 2) make repeated small scale attacks on (an enemy) in order to wear down resistance. DERIVATIVES harasser noun harassment noun. USAGE The word harass is… …
6Harass — Har ass, n. 1. Devastation; waste. [Obs.] Milton. [1913 Webster] 2. Worry; harassment. [R.] Byron. [1913 Webster] …
7harass — (v.) 1610s, from Fr. harasser tire out, vex, possibly from O.Fr. harer set a dog on, and perhaps blended with O.Fr. harier to harry, draw, drag [Barnhart]. Originally to lay waste, devastate, sense of distress is from 1650s. Related: Harassed;… …
8harass — harry, *worry, annoy, plague, pester, tease, tantalize Analogous words: *bait, badger, hound, ride, hector, chivy, heckle: vex, irk, bother (see ANNOY) Contrasted words: *comfort, solace, console: *relieve, assuage, alleviate …
9harass — There are two pitfalls with this word meaning ‘to trouble or annoy repeatedly’ and its derivatives harassing, harassment, etc. One is the spelling, with only one r (unlike embarrass); the other is the pronunciation, which should be ha rǝs with… …
10harass — [v] badger annoy, attack, bait, bedevil, beleaguer, bother, bug*, burn*, despoil, devil*, distress, disturb, eat*, exasperate, exhaust, fatigue, foray, get to*, give a bad time*, give a hard time*, gnaw*, harry, hassle, heckle, hound*, intimidate …
