To harass is to engage in the act of harassment; which refers to the use of words or engaging in behavior that annoys, threatens, intimidates, or demeans a person. Harassment is unwanted, uninvited, and unwelcome and causes annoyance, alarm, or substantial emotional distress without a legitimate purpose.
Harassment may take the form of words, actions, or visual displays, such as photographs or cartoons. It may include, but is not limited to, abusive, derogatory comments or defamatory and obscene propositions, insulting, taunting another person, offensive touching or physical interference, repeated irritating or bothersome behavior, such as unwelcome persistent phone calls.
In employment law, harassment is a form of employment discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). In employment law, harassment is defined as offensive, unwelcome conduct based on a victim's protected characteristic, that is so severe or pervasive that it affects the terms and conditions of the victim's employment. Harassment may take the form of words, actions, gestures, demands, or visual displays, such as photographs or cartoons.
Sometimes, harassment is used more generally to refer to repeated irritating or bothersome behavior, such as persistent telephone calls from a debt collector.
[Last updated in April of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]