Unsolicited words or conduct which tend to annoy, alarm or abuse another person.
An excellent alternate definition can be found in Ontario's Human Rights Code as:
"... a course of vexatious comment or conduct that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome."
Other jurisdictions prefer to offer a fuller description of conduct that is harassing in law.
In New Zealand's Harassment Act of 1997, the prohibited conduct is described as follows:
"A person harasses another person if he or she engages in a pattern of behaviour that is directed against that other person, being a pattern of behaviour that includes doing any (of the following) specified act(s) to the other person on at least 2 separate occasions within a period of 12 months:
- Watching, loitering near, or preventing or hindering access to or from, that person's place of residence, business, employment, or any other place that the person frequents for any purpose;
- Following, stopping, of accosting that person;
- Entering, or interfering with, property in that person's possession;
- Making contact with that person (whether by telephone, correspondence, or in any way);
- Giving offensive material to that person, of leaving it where it will be found by, given to, or brought to the attention of, that person;(and)
- Acting in any other way that causes that other person to fear for his or her safety; and that would cause a reasonable person in (those) particular circumstances to fear for his or her safety.
Name-calling ("stupid", "retard" or "dummy") is a common form of harassment.
See also sexual harassment and criminal harassment.