1
as in frightening
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2
as in annoying
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Dissimilar Words
as in killing
to use up all the physical energy of
had been visibly harassed by the demands of the presidency
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of harassing
Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 1 Jan. 2026
The line is crossed when someone’s conduct at work becomes disrespectful, harassing, intimidating, discriminatory, or disruptive to the team.
—Johnny C. Taylor Jr, USA Today, 30 Dec. 2025
Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026
The driver asked her harassing questions on the ride before stopping the car and raping her, Dean alleged in the lawsuit.
—Miguel Torres, Oklahoman, 6 Feb. 2026
And that instead of doxxing and harassing the creatives behind the show, people…shared genuine criticisms?
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 4 Feb. 2026
He was prohibited from owning the weapons by a Sacramento Superior Court order that bars him from harassing, stalking and threatening an intimate partner, the indictment says.
—Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 31 Jan. 2026
Some Native Americans say ICE is harassing them Last year, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said that several tribal citizens reported being stopped and detained by ICE officers in Arizona and New Mexico.
—Graham Lee Brewer, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2026
That’s not first amendment, going in and harassing people in the middle church.
—Glenn Garner, Deadline, 30 Jan. 2026
In his lawsuit, Carnahan says that Crosby is harassing him and his family members.
—Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 29 Jan. 2026
Of course, these posts outing Khan as a potential Twitter troll—this time anonymously as compared to the troll activity on his own account—led to harassing tweets from pro-AEW accounts.
—Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
The first complaint, in which a clerk made similar accusations of abusive and harassing conduct, was filed with the circuit court in 2022, not long after Merriam’s appointment.
—Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 1 Jan. 2026
The line is crossed when someone’s conduct at work becomes disrespectful, harassing, intimidating, discriminatory, or disruptive to the team.
—Johnny C. Taylor Jr, USA Today, 30 Dec. 2025
Verb
The Seattle defense, which nicknamed itself the Dark Side, lived in quarterback Drake Maye’s face, sacking him six times and harassing him into three turnovers.
—Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026
The driver asked her harassing questions on the ride before stopping the car and raping her, Dean alleged in the lawsuit.
—Miguel Torres, Oklahoman, 6 Feb. 2026
And that instead of doxxing and harassing the creatives behind the show, people…shared genuine criticisms?
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 4 Feb. 2026
He was prohibited from owning the weapons by a Sacramento Superior Court order that bars him from harassing, stalking and threatening an intimate partner, the indictment says.
—Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 31 Jan. 2026
Some Native Americans say ICE is harassing them Last year, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said that several tribal citizens reported being stopped and detained by ICE officers in Arizona and New Mexico.
—Graham Lee Brewer, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2026
That’s not first amendment, going in and harassing people in the middle church.
—Glenn Garner, Deadline, 30 Jan. 2026
In his lawsuit, Carnahan says that Crosby is harassing him and his family members.
—Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 29 Jan. 2026
Of course, these posts outing Khan as a potential Twitter troll—this time anonymously as compared to the troll activity on his own account—led to harassing tweets from pro-AEW accounts.
—Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harassing
Adjective
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The bodycam video was an eye-opening look at the frightening aftermath of the Brown campus shooting when police were searching room-by-room for the suspect, trying to comfort and care for terrified students, and trying to coordinate with campus police to get past locked doors.—
Corky Siemaszko,
NBC news,
9 Feb. 2026
-
In 2017 Dikansh Parmar of the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change in Germany, rescued an Indian cobra (Naja naja) coiled around a train’s window bars that was hissing and, understandably, frightening passengers.—
Richard Kemeny,
Scientific American,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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So now James is out here knowing that Siegfried was right, which is annoying.—
Alice Burton,
Vulture,
9 Feb. 2026
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The Kelce/Swifty thing got très annoying but Mahomes was a married guy with a few kids.—
Linda Perillo,
New York Daily News,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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On Tuesday morning, Russian planes dropped seven powerful glide bombs on Sloviansk, in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, killing an 11-year-old girl and her mother, according to regional chief Vadym Filashkin.—
EMMA BURROWS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
11 Feb. 2026
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Prosecutors say Brian Walton of Los Angeles was a stranger to Claudia Guevara, but he’s accused of killing the woman, then 23.—
Andrea Flores,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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For example, Americans living during World War II developed persecutory delusions involving Germans, while those living during the Cold War focused on communists.—
Alaina Vandervoort Burns,
The Conversation,
17 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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Structured as entries in Emily’s field journal, the novel lays out her aims, her curmudgeonly nature and her pestiferous relationship with one Wendell Bambleby — a charismatic fellow researcher and sometime rival who Emily suspects is a fairy himself.—
Amal El-Mohtar,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 2023
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The whole event was lousy with pestiferous Bible-banging.—
Charles P. Pierce,
Esquire,
12 Dec. 2017
Verb
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Moments later, Carthen struts into the frame wearing a Patriot's jersey corset, an enormous fur stole, and knee-high Timberland stilettos.—
Kathleen Walsh,
Glamour,
9 Feb. 2026
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For part of his sentence, he was allowed out to work with the Norwegian Football Federation coaching young players, while wearing an ankle tag.—
Greg O'Keeffe,
New York Times,
8 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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But even without an arrest, First Amendment advocates say the law has a chilling effect.—
Shira Moolten,
Sun Sentinel,
6 Feb. 2026
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As part of the package, the White House is seeking to codify a dangerous government price control precedent into law that will have a chilling effect on medical innovation and patient choice.—
Washington Post,
Washington Post,
3 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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There, Arco finds an inquisitive ally in Iris (Romy Fay), a girl his age, but with a different experience growing up.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
6 Feb. 2026
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Caretakers describe him as social, inquisitive and highly intelligent.—
Duante Beddingfield,
Freep.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Harassing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harassing. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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