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 Sirianni said Monday that beleaguered offensive coordinator Sean Mannion was still the play-caller. — ABC News, 22 Oct. 2026 Ed Sheeran‘s beleaguered Gillette Stadium concerts tonight and Saturday have been canceled due to the nor’easter threatening New England with severe weather. — Greg Evans, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2026 Multi-talented All-Star forward Shawn Marion had just been traded from upbeat Phoenix (34-14) to beleaguered Miami (9-37) in a deal for disgruntled center Shaquille O’Neal. — Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 24 Sep. 2026 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for beleaguered

besieged

Verb

Mehra – director of 2016 pic Baar Baar Dekho and creator of Prime Video series Big Girls Don’t Cry – says that while Indian audiences are besieged by films and TV content right now, where Hunkkaar has cut through is in its subject matter.

— Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2026
Its largest medical center, Al-Shifa Hospital, was besieged, bombed, and raided, under false pretexts, resulting in hundreds of deaths inside.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of besieged

Browse Nearby Words

beleaguer

beleaguered

beleaguering

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“Beleaguered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beleaguered. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of beleaguered

verb

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