harass — 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… … Law dictionary
harass — harass·ing; harass·ing·ly; harass·ment; harass; … English syllables
Harass — 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 … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
harass — 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… … Financial and business terms
harass — ► 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… … English terms dictionary
Harass — Har ass, n. 1. Devastation; waste. [Obs.] Milton. [1913 Webster] 2. Worry; harassment. [R.] Byron. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
harass — (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;… … Etymology dictionary
harass — 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 … New Dictionary of Synonyms
harass — 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… … Modern English usage
harass — [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 … New thesaurus
harass — [har′əs, hə ras′] vt. [Fr harasser < OFr harer, to set a dog on < hare, cry to incite dogs < OHG harēn, to call, cry out] 1. to trouble, worry, or torment, as with cares, debts, repeated questions, etc. 2. to trouble by repeated raids or … English World dictionary
