harass
to continuously irritate or annoy someone
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Russian police detain and HARASS Norwegian journalists in Sochi
(The Guardian)
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People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it's safer to HARASS rich women than motorcycle gangs.
(British stand-up comedian Alexei Sayle)
(The Guardian)
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People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it's safer to HARASS rich women than motorcycle gangs.
(British stand-up comedian Alexei Sayle)
Did you
know?
harass
verb
- to continue to annoy or upset someone over a period of time
harassment
noun
(Cambridge Dictionaries)
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Harass stems from the early 17th century and evolved from the French "harasser," meaning to tire out, torment and possibly from the Old French "harer," which refers to setting a dog on (another animal)
Harer was perhaps blended with the Old French "harier," to harry, draw or drag. Harass originally meant to devastate or destroy. The sense of "distress" is from the 1650s.
Harass and the verb "harry," which has nothing to do with the British royal family, are related and probably stem from the same French source. Both mean to disturb or distress by repeated attacks. The US military operates a jet called the Harrier (for obvious reasons) and the harrier (small "h") is a type of dog that is bred for hunting.
There are two possible pronunciations of the word harass: one with the stress on the har- and the other with the stress on -rass. The former pronunciation is the older one and is regarded by some people as the only correct one, especially in British English. However, the pronunciation with the stress on the second syllable -rass is very common and is now accepted as a standard alternative.
(partially adapted from the Oxford Dictionary)
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SYNONYMS
hassle, hound, intimidate, persecute, pester, bother, disturb, irritate, plague, ride, vex, badger
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"People who don’t want to be harassed by tax authorities, you need file tax returns on time."
verb
- to continue to annoy or upset someone over a period of time
harassment
noun
(Cambridge Dictionaries)
---
Harass stems from the early 17th century and evolved from the French "harasser," meaning to tire out, torment and possibly from the Old French "harer," which refers to setting a dog on (another animal)
Harer was perhaps blended with the Old French "harier," to harry, draw or drag. Harass originally meant to devastate or destroy. The sense of "distress" is from the 1650s.
Harass and the verb "harry," which has nothing to do with the British royal family, are related and probably stem from the same French source. Both mean to disturb or distress by repeated attacks. The US military operates a jet called the Harrier (for obvious reasons) and the harrier (small "h") is a type of dog that is bred for hunting.
There are two possible pronunciations of the word harass: one with the stress on the har- and the other with the stress on -rass. The former pronunciation is the older one and is regarded by some people as the only correct one, especially in British English. However, the pronunciation with the stress on the second syllable -rass is very common and is now accepted as a standard alternative.
(partially adapted from the Oxford Dictionary)
---
SYNONYMS
hassle, hound, intimidate, persecute, pester, bother, disturb, irritate, plague, ride, vex, badger
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"People who don’t want to be harassed by tax authorities, you need file tax returns on time."
