BELEAGUERED Synonyms: 23 Similar and Opposite Words

beleaguered

verb

Definition of beleaguered

past tense of beleaguer

as in besieged

to surround (as a fortified place) with armed forces for the purpose of capturing or preventing commerce and communication beleaguered the castle for months

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of beleaguered Manmade infrastructure on California’s coast has been battered and beleaguered in recent years — even without El Niño. — Robert Gauthier, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026 In New Jersey — a state beleaguered by waste and high costs in its public health plans — teachers and other school workers face premium hikes of 34% next year. — Bob Herman, STAT, 18 Aug. 2026 The department has been further beleaguered by concerns that leaders manipulated crime statistics to boost its image. — Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 10 Aug. 2026 Local government officials have played a key role in orchestrating the competition’s spread, eying the boost for businesses in a domestic economy beleaguered by weak consumption. — Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 21 July 2026 In Georgia, chicken farmers are beleaguered by bedbugs, which have hopped from hotel rooms to poultry farms, and from there to workers’ homes. — Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 29 June 2026 Sybil, who spent her younger years beleaguered by the presence of her double, that emblem of feminine conformity named Désirée, never manages to perceive herself as anything but abnormal by comparison. — Literary Hub, 9 June 2026 This spring, graduates are leaving their respective alma maters and entering a job market that is beleaguered with uncertainty. — Adam Harris, The Atlantic, 21 May 2026 But their chances have appeared to improve in recent weeks as the unpopular war with Iran and stubborn affordability issues have beleaguered GOP midterm ambitions. — Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 6 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for beleaguered

besieged

Verb

In recent months, Israeli settlers have repeatedly besieged the village of Qusra, defying orders from the authorities to leave the area and trying to force Palestinian families, some of whom are also American citizens, out.

— Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026
There has been a spate of Israeli settler violence in the West Bank, and the village of Qusra has been besieged by Israeli settlers for weeks.

— F. Brinley Bruton, NBC news, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of besieged

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beleaguer

beleaguered

beleaguering

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“Beleaguered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beleaguered. Accessed 3 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of beleaguered

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