ha·rass / həˈras; ˈharəs/ • v. [tr.] subject to aggressive pressure or intimidation: a warning to men harassing girls at work. ∎  make repeated small-scale attacks on (an enemy): the squadron's task was to harass the retreating enemy forces. ∎  [as adj.] (harassed) feeling or looking strained by having too many demands made on one.DERIVATIVES: ha·rass·er n.ha·rass·ing·ly adv.ha·rass·ment n.ORIGIN: early 17th cent.: from French harasser, from harer ‘set a dog on,’ from Germanic hare, a cry urging a dog to attack.

harass †tire out; trouble, worry. XVII. — F. harasser, pejorative deriv. of harer set a dog on, f. hare cry used for this purpose.