harassment
- 1The act of deliberately pestering or intimidating another person.
The constant harassment from his coworkers made him dread coming into the office.
She reported the harassment to the building manager after weeks of late-night threats.
Similarbullying, intimidation, pestering, persecution, torment
Note
Here the weight falls on intent: the pestering is done on purpose, which sets it apart from the sense of mounting criticism. It pairs readily with sexual, and in that pairing it becomes an institutional word. Harassment is reported, investigated and responded to, as in a school district's handling of reports under Title IX. It works as a mass noun and as a count noun, with harassments for separate incidents.
- 2Persistent attacks and criticism that cause a person worry and distress.
The columnist faced relentless harassment after publishing the controversial piece.
Years of public harassment took a heavy toll on the player's mental health.
Similarabuse, persecution, hounding, vilification
- 3The tactic of using repeated small-scale attacks to gradually wear down an enemy force.
The general relied on harassment to drain the invaders' supplies before any major engagement.
Artillery harassment kept the opposing forces from resting through the night.
Note
In military use the noun often works as a modifier: harassment attacks, artillery harassment. The aim is attrition rather than ground. No single strike decides anything, but together they erode morale, supplies and rest. Drachinifel's The Battle of Samar (2019) describes aircraft crisscrossing the skies in "desperate harassment attacks," with pilots left guessing which carrier was which.
Practice
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Origin
Borrowed from Middle French "harassement." By surface analysis, it can also be read as "harass" plus the suffix "-ment."