verb (used with object)
- to disturb persistently; torment, as with troubles or cares; bother continually; pester; persecute.
- to trouble by repeated attacks, incursions, etc., as in war or hostilities; harry; raid.
verb
- (tr) to trouble, torment, or confuse by continual persistent attacks, questions, etc
v.1610s, from French harasser “tire out, vex,” possibly from Old French harer “set a dog on,” and perhaps blended with Old French harier “to harry, draw, drag” [Barnhart]. Originally “to lay waste, devastate,” sense of “distress” is from 1650s. Related: Harassed; harassing.