harassed en · ADJ
Etymology
Etymology tree English harass Old English -ed Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos Proto-Germanic *-ōdaz Old English -od Middle English -ed English -ed English harassed From harass + -ed.
Meanings
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Subject to harassment.
No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes,[…]. And at last I began to realize in my harassed soul that all elusion was futile, and to take such holidays as I could get, when he was off with a girl, in a spirit of thankfulness.
1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 46:Diggle Station lies high up in the Pennine Chain, subject to extreme low temperatures. With this and heavy snowfall in the winter months, Diggle bids fair to compete with the Scottish lines under similar weather conditions, and the provision of unfrozen water in the higher ambient temperature of the tunnel must be a boon to harassed engine drivers whose thirsty steeds run short of water up the gruelling 1 in 125 seven-mile climb from Stalybridge.
1959 February 14, “Letters to the Editor: Diggle Water Troughs”, in Railway Magazine, page 135:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most harassed | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more harassed | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |