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Definition of harass verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

harass

verb
 
/ˈhærəs/,
 
/həˈræs/
 
/həˈræs/,
 
/ˈhærəs/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they harass
 
/ˈhærəs/,
 
/həˈræs/
 
/həˈræs/,
 
/ˈhærəs/
he / she / it harasses
 
/ˈhærəsɪz/,
 
/həˈræsɪz/
 
/həˈræsɪz/,
 
/ˈhærəsɪz/
past simple harassed
 
/ˈhærəst/,
 
/həˈræst/
 
/həˈræst/,
 
/ˈhærəst/
past participle harassed
 
/ˈhærəst/,
 
/həˈræst/
 
/həˈræst/,
 
/ˈhærəst/
-ing form harassing
 
/ˈhærəsɪŋ/,
 
/həˈræsɪŋ/
 
/həˈræsɪŋ/,
 
/ˈhærəsɪŋ/
jump to other results
  1. [often passive] to annoy or worry somebody by putting pressure on them or saying or doing unpleasant things to them
    • be harassed (by somebody) He has complained of being harassed by the police.
    • She claims she has been sexually harassed at work.
    Extra Examples
    • He told her that if she continued to harass him, he would call the police.
    • Protesters have been blocking access to the clinic and physically harassing staff.
    • The man harassed a neighbour with racist abuse.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • racially
    • sexually
    • constantly
    See full entry
  2. harass somebody/something to make repeated attacks on an enemy synonym harry
    • Our convoys are being continually harassed by enemy submarines.
    • Greenpeace has been harassing whaling operations at sea.
  3. Word Originearly 17th cent.: from French harasser, from harer ‘set a dog on’, from Germanic hare, a cry urging a dog to attack.
See harass in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
given
adjective
 
 
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