BESIEGED Synonyms: 160 Similar and Opposite Words

besieged

verb

past tense of besiege

as in blockaded

to surround (as a fortified place) with armed forces for the purpose of capturing or preventing commerce and communication armies besieged the city for six months before it finally surrendered

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as in plagued

to cause persistent suffering to a family besieged by worries about the faltering economy

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as in petitioned

to make a request to (someone) in an earnest or urgent manner bereaved parents continued to besiege the president with pleas to end the war

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Example Sentences

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 besieged 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 One of them, Muammar Ibrahim, reported for Al Jazeera’s Arabic network while the city was besieged. — Mat Nashed, Christian Science Monitor, 27 Aug. 2026 Indiana, besieged by injuries after reaching the 2025 NBA Finals, was 1-12 when Mathurin returned. — William Guillory, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026 Saunders is one of the most senior Australian Catholics to be convicted in a global clergy abuse scandal that has besieged the Vatican for years. — ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026 The Pratts are in serious crisis, besieged by bullies and bad neighbors outside of their house and foundation-crumbling dysfunction inside it. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 12 Aug. 2026 The staff means business, with the host stand besieged by walk-ins, take-out orders, and impatient guests waiting outside. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 July 2026 As a result, the federal court in South Florida has been besieged with habeas petitions. — Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 30 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for besieged

Verb

Iran’s proxies in the region, the Houthis, have since blockaded another strait – the Bab-al-Mandeb – challenging Saudi Arabia’s ability to export oil through that alternate route.

— David Goldman, CNN Money, 3 Aug. 2026
During the early nineteen-eighties, when Paul Volcker, the chair of the Federal Reserve, raised interest rates to twenty per cent in the face of rampant inflation, furious farmers blockaded the Fed’s headquarters with their tractors.

— John Cassidy, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of blockaded

Verb

Garbage’s set was plagued by technical difficulties, but singer Shirley Manson kept her cool, joking that this was just the kind of thing the band was used to.

— Elisabeth Garber-Paul, Rolling Stone, 30 Aug. 2026
The research team identified opportunities to improve the atomic layer etching (ALE) approach, which offers significant advantages over the conventional methods but was plagued by difficulties for practical use.

— Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of plagued

Verb

Williams has since disputed any cognitive impairment diagnosis and has petitioned to have her guardianship removed.

— Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 24 Aug. 2026
While the court challenge was pending, Sustanee’s developers separately petitioned Orange County to certify its acres to be fast-tracked under state Senate Bill 686.

— Stephen Hudak, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of petitioned

Verb

But the university’s recent actions in a lawsuit filed by a former student who was attacked on campus during that period appear at odds with that commitment.

— Joaquin Sapien, ProPublica, 28 Aug. 2026
Not long after Bungalow 8 opened, the World Trade Center was attacked.

— Derek C. Blasberg, Vanity Fair, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of attacked

Verb

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

Definition of beleaguered

Verb

García Luna pledged to restore independence and public confidence in the Public Ministry and began reviewing cases involving officials, journalists, and others who alleged that they had been politically persecuted under the previous administration.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Aug. 2026
Many Marranos persecuted by the Inquisition did secretly maintain a Jewish identity.

— Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of persecuted

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

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Synonyms of besieged

verb

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