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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in plagued

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 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, 13 Oct. 2026 The settlers who carried out the attack in Jalud overnight are the same group who besieged the home of a Palestinian-American in the neighboring village of Qusra last month, local residents say. — Zeena Saifi, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for besieged

Verb

In the south, farmers and truckers have blockaded ports and highways in protest of those same high fuel costs.

— Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 23 Oct. 2026
Protesters have broken into schools and, in some cases, set fire to occupied or blockaded buildings.

— Nicholas Bequelin, Time, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of blockaded

Verb

But he was plagued by guilt over his ancestor’s role in the trials, and felt compelled to explore themes of human character, greed, and social decay through his work.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2026
Joan realizes that her mother’s vanishing meshes with a larger tapestry of tragedy that has plagued their family over the years.

— Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of plagued

Verb

Rejection by appeals court Saying that Carter was not moving fast enough, the Justice Department last weekend petitioned the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to hear their request before Tuesday’s hearing in his Los Angeles court.

— Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 27 Oct. 2026
That, however, never happened and an attorney eventually petitioned for his release.

— Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026

Definition of petitioned

Verb

Many questions Bukele has billed the rapid buildup as a search-and-rescue operation to find the missing Salvadorans, who were attacked east of Port-au-Prince while returning to camp after a trip to the supermarket.

— Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 30 Oct. 2026
Kaye spent around $100,000 on dozens of ads in the Hollywood trades, Variety among them, some of which attacked Norton and the studio.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of attacked

Verb

Calle 13 became famous not just for its edgy rap and urban music, but also for loudly calling out the economic and social inequalities that afflicted Puerto Rico.

— Helena Alonso Paisley, Miami Herald, 28 Oct. 2026
His central claim is that mental health culture has created a situation where over time, the people who are least afflicted get the most attention.

— Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of afflicted

Verb

Another concerned resident, Richard Dean, provided emails in which he all but begged the city to do something about the animal.

— Fedor Zarkhin, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
Theo was not rich, and Vincent constantly complained about being broke, with not even enough money for food, and often practically begged his brother for more money.

— Joan Martelli, Time, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of begged

Verb

Sirianni said Monday that beleaguered offensive coordinator Sean Mannion was still the play-caller.

— ABC News, 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

Definition of beleaguered

Verb

The company named all its weapons after Ukrainian intellectuals and artists killed or persecuted by Russians in the last century.

— Joanna Kakissis, NPR, 29 Oct. 2026
During this same time his father had vanished behind the Bamboo Curtain and was almost certainly persecuted, possibly even murdered, by the same Communists that Hoover claimed to be fighting.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of persecuted

Browse Nearby Words

besiege

besieged

besieger

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Besieged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/besieged. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of besieged

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

wraith

Popular in Grammar & Usage

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Pwn, Skibidi, Girlboss and Other Words Added to the 2026 Scrabble Dictionary

The Words of the Week - Oct. 30

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes