approaching harassment

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "approaching harassment" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe behavior that is nearing the threshold of harassment, indicating that the actions may soon become inappropriate or unacceptable. Example: "While the comments were not overtly offensive, they were approaching harassment and made the recipient uncomfortable."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Academia

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

1 human-written examples

Maybe it's time to stop approaching harassment and discrimination as fundamentally an individual problem.

Forbes

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

59 human-written examples

We have very much approached harassment as a workplace safety issue.

Cornell University

On top of this, there is also the issue of how businesses approach sexual harassment.

Forbes

Neither of them considered approaching authorities about the harassment because oknhas are seen to be untouchable and both the police and judiciary are beset with corruption.

Vice

In our study, the mating success of immaculata males relied on the strategy of appearing like juvenile females to avoid harassment when approaching receptive females and in taking advantage of their smaller body size to sneak copulations.

BMC Evolutionary Biology

It was one of the biggest sexual-harassment awards ever, and it helped to revolutionize how businesses approach claims of harassment and other forms of discrimination.

The New Yorker

The state attorney general's office has also been accused of taking a lenient approach to harassment complaints.

The New York Times

Twitter's lackadaisical approach to harassment is especially strange, given the company's prominence in social justice campaigns.

TechCrunch

A former classmate of Sehrawat from St Georges, Mussoorie, considered Sehrawat's approach as harassment.

Vice

The PUA practice of approaching women in the street is sometimes confused with harassment.

Vice

Understand that school districts approach incidents of sexual harassment, battery or assault as risk management problems; they will do what they can to minimize their exposure and liability and make your problem go away.

Huffington Post

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "approaching harassment" when you want to describe behavior that is not yet fully harassment but is moving in that direction and causing concern.

Common error

Avoid using "approaching harassment" when the behavior has already clearly crossed the line into actual harassment. In such cases, use phrases like "engaging in harassment" or "committing harassment" instead.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "approaching harassment" functions as a descriptive term, modifying the noun "harassment" to indicate actions or behaviors that are nearing the threshold of being considered harassment. As Ludwig AI shows, it describes the trajectory of behavior, not necessarily completed action.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

News & Media

40%

Academia

30%

Science

30%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "approaching harassment" is a grammatically sound way to describe behavior that is nearing the point of being classified as harassment. Ludwig AI confirms its usability in written English. Though not very common, its usage appears across diverse and reliable sources like Forbes, Vice and academic institutions, suggesting a neutral register suitable for professional and academic contexts. It serves to express concern about potentially harmful behavior and prompt intervention before it escalates. While "bordering on harassment" and "nearing harassment" are viable alternatives, using "approaching harassment" effectively conveys the imminence of the issue.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

bordering on harassment

This alternative emphasizes the proximity to crossing the line into actual harassment.

nearing harassment

This option is a direct synonym, simply replacing "approaching" with "nearing".

verging on harassment

This phrase highlights the act of almost becoming harassment.

becoming harassment

This suggests that the actions are in the process of evolving into harassment.

on the verge of harassment

Similar to "verging on", but with slightly more emphasis on the potential for escalation.

close to harassment

This option indicates a physical or metaphorical proximity to harassment.

potentially harassing

This version focuses on the inherent possibility of the behavior being perceived as harassment.

in danger of becoming harassment

This highlights the risk involved and the negative trajectory of the actions.

resembling harassment

This suggests that the actions have similar characteristics to harassment, though perhaps not fully meeting the criteria.

sliding into harassment

This option implies a gradual and potentially unintentional descent into harassing behavior.

FAQs

How can I use "approaching harassment" in a sentence?

Use "approaching harassment" to describe actions that are nearing the point of being considered actual harassment. For example, "While the jokes weren't explicitly offensive, they were "approaching harassment" and made several employees uncomfortable."

What's a good alternative to "approaching harassment"?

Alternatives include "bordering on harassment", "nearing harassment", or "verging on harassment". The best choice depends on the specific nuance you want to convey.

Is "approaching harassment" the same as "harassment"?

No. "Approaching harassment" indicates that the behavior is moving towards becoming harassment but hasn't fully reached that point yet. "Harassment" describes behavior that already meets the legal or ethical definition of harassment.

When is it appropriate to use "approaching harassment" instead of another phrase?

Use "approaching harassment" when you want to signal that a situation is becoming problematic and needs to be addressed before it escalates into full-blown harassment. It's useful for describing a trend or pattern of behavior rather than a single, isolated incident.