# harassment

Pronunciation: US say "huh-RAS-muhnt" /həˈɹæs.mənt/; UK

## Noun

1. The act of deliberately pestering or intimidating another person.
   - Simple: Bothering or scaring someone on purpose, again and again.
   - _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._
2. Persistent attacks and criticism that cause a person worry and distress.
   - Simple: Attacking and criticizing someone over and over until they feel worried and upset.
   - _The columnist faced relentless harassment after publishing the controversial piece._
   - _Years of public harassment took a heavy toll on the player's mental health._
3. The tactic of using repeated small-scale attacks to gradually wear down an enemy force.
   - Simple: Wearing down an enemy with many small, repeated attacks.
   - _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._

## Origin

Borrowed from Middle French "harassement." By surface analysis, it can also be read as "harass" plus the suffix "-ment."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/harassment (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).