harass

Compared meaning: to make someone feel angry or bothered (verb).

比较义项：使人生气／烦扰（动词）。

• provoke

  Implies a deliberate act meant to trigger a strong reaction, such as anger or an argument, often a single incident rather than something repeated.

  强调故意做出某种行为，目的是激起强烈反应（如愤怒或争吵），通常是一次性的行为，而非反复发生。

  Reporters tried to provoke a reaction by asking about the scandal.

  记者们试图通过追问丑闻来激起他的反应。

• harass 本词

  Implies repeated, ongoing trouble or bothering, often in a serious context like the workplace, rather than a single moment of irritation.

  强调反复、持续的骚扰或困扰，常用于职场等较严肃的场合，而不是一时的烦躁。

  Telemarketers kept calling every night to harass elderly customers.

  推销员每晚都打电话骚扰老年顾客。

• annoy

  Describes a mild, everyday irritation, often caused by minor or unintentional actions, and does not require repetition or serious intent.

  表示轻微、日常的恼火，往往由无意或琐碎的小事引起，不要求反复发生或蓄意为之。

  Her little brother kept poking her arm just to annoy her.

  她的小弟弟老是戳她的手臂，就是想惹恼她。

All three mean making someone feel angry or bothered. Provoke means deliberately triggering a strong reaction, like anger, in a single incident. Harass means repeated, ongoing trouble, in serious contexts like the workplace. Annoy is the mildest, describing everyday irritation, often unintentional.

这三个词都表示引起对方负面情绪，但程度和方式不同：provoke强调故意刺激对方做出反应（常是愤怒或争执），harass强调反复骚扰使人困扰，annoy只是让人感到轻微的恼火，力度最弱。

Compared meaning: to continually trouble or bother someone (verb).

比较义项：折磨，骚扰，困扰（动词）。

• harass 本词

  Implies a person deliberately and repeatedly bothers or intimidates someone, often in phrases like workplace or sexual harassment; usually a human agent acting on purpose.

  表示某人故意、反复地骚扰或恐吓另一个人，常用于「职场骚扰」或「性骚扰」这类说法；施动者通常是人，且行为是故意的。

  Her noisy neighbors harass her with loud music every single night.

  她那吵闹的邻居每天晚上都用大声的音乐骚扰她。

• plague

  Suggests a recurring problem or nuisance, often with a non-human or abstract subject like insects, doubts, or debt, that keeps troubling someone rather than a person acting deliberately.

  表示反复出现的问题或烦扰，主语常是非人的或抽象的事物，比如昆虫、疑虑或债务，持续困扰某人，而不是某人故意做出的行为。

  Mosquitoes plague the campers by the lake all summer long.

  蚊子整个夏天都在湖边不断折磨着露营者。

• molest

  In modern English almost always means to sexually or physically abuse someone, especially a child; far more serious than the others and never used for ordinary bothering.

  在现代英语中几乎总是指对某人（尤其是儿童）进行性侵犯或人身侵犯；语气比其他几个词严重得多，绝不用于表示一般的烦扰。

  Police charged him with attempting to molest a young child.

  警方指控他企图猥亵一名幼童。

• beset

  A formal word meaning to be continually surrounded or troubled by difficulties, dangers, or misfortunes, almost always passive ('beset by/with'), rarely about one person bothering another directly.

  是一个正式用词，表示持续被困难、危险或不幸围困，几乎总是用被动语态（「beset by/with」），很少表示某人直接骚扰另一个人。

  The tiny kingdom was beset by war, famine, and constant unrest.

  这个小王国长期被战争、饥荒和持续动荡所困扰。

These words mean continually troubling someone. Harass means a person deliberately bothers someone repeatedly. Plague has a non-human subject, like insects or debt, not the disease sense. Molest means abusing someone sexually or physically, far more serious. Beset is formal, passive, surrounded by difficulties.

这几个词在「使人持续感到困扰」这个意义上很接近，但语气、施动者和使用场合不同：harass 强调人故意反复地骚扰他人；plague 常用于非人称或抽象的主语（如蚊虫、疑虑、债务）反复带来烦恼；molest 在现代英语里几乎专指对人（尤其是儿童）的性侵犯或人身侵犯，语气严重得多；beset 是正式用词，几乎只用被动语态表示被困难重重围困。这里不比较 plague 作名词时表示「瘟疫」的意思。