harassment

The word “harassment” means repeated unwanted behavior intended to disturb, intimidate, or upset someone. In plain terms, ongoing unwanted, intimidating, or distressing behavior directed at someone.

“Harassment” is pronounced huh-RAS-muhnt (/həˈɹæs.mənt/ in IPA).

Here is “harassment” used in a sentence: “The company was sued for failing to act on harassment complaints.”

Words with a similar meaning to “harassment” include torment.

“Harassment” is a noun.

The word “harassment” comes from French. From French harassement, built from harass plus -ment.

“Harassment” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the C1 level.

Harassment is repeated unwanted behavior intended to disturb, intimidate, or upset someone, and it is the term most often used in formal complaints and law. Bullying describes a similar pattern of deliberate mistreatment, discussed especially in schools and workplaces and often involving a power imbalance between the people involved.

The correct spelling is harassment: one r and a double s, from the verb harass plus -ment. The frequent misspelling "harrassment," with two r's, is not a standard form.

Harassment is repeated unwanted conduct aimed at disturbing, intimidating, or upsetting a person. Discrimination is treating someone unfairly because of a characteristic such as age, sex, or background; the two can occur together, but discrimination concerns unequal treatment rather than the repeated behavior itself.