besieged

verb

past tense of besiege
1
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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2
as in plagued
to cause persistent suffering to a family besieged by worries about the faltering economy

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3
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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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 In the adjacent room, the Shapiro team was equally besieged. — Victoria Gomelsky, Robb Report, 17 June 2026 Boston was besieged by the Tartan Army. — Becky Sullivan, NPR, 28 June 2026 In place of the ancient forest was a shorn land besieged by uncontrollable wildfires, prone to land-slides and erosion. — Literary Hub, 10 June 2026 Some time later, however, King Ben-hadad of Aram mustered his entire army and besieged Samaria. — Helaine Williams, Arkansas Online, 6 June 2026 Tony season in New York is a veritable marathon for theater-folk, who are besieged by invites to countless classy events in succession. — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 7 June 2026 VidCon, the annual online video tech convention that rolls around at the end of June, will be besieged by agents and producers seeking the next great YouTube auteur. — Dana Harris-Bridson, IndieWire, 2 June 2026 In the 41st millennium, the Imperium of Man is besieged by extraterrestrial forces of all sorts and even darker threats, but humanity's defenders are brutal and relentless, too. — Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 2 June 2026 The mass shooting that claimed 49 lives and injured dozens of others—the deadliest hate crime targeting LGBTQ+ people in American history—still leaves a grievous mark, most especially in a city, state and nation besieged with new attacks on the gay community. — R. Daniel Foster, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for besieged
  1. blockaded
  2. plagued
  3. petitioned
  4. attacked
  5. afflicted
  6. begged
  7. beleaguered
  8. persecuted
Verb
  • The Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for the region’s oil and gas, was effectively blockaded since the outbreak of war between the United States and Iran in late February.
    — Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 25 June 2026
  • Meanwhile, Lord Corlys Velaryon and his fleet have the city blockaded, while Team Black commands from Dragonstone and Daemon battles in the Riverlands and Aemond broods on the throne, which he’s taken from his maimed brother.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 20 June 2026
Definition of blockaded
Verb
  • Aside from the peeling of the waterproof coating, the reflecting pool has been plagued by an algae bloom, a persistent problem due to Washington’s high heat during the summer and the pool’s shallow depth, which creates an ideal biological incubator.
    — Philip Wang, Time, 6 July 2026
  • Now fully healthy after knee injuries plagued his rookie season, Thiero’s versatility in summer league could potentially translate to regular-season minutes.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2026
Definition of plagued
Verb
  • With seemingly nowhere left to turn, Apple petitioned the Supreme Court to intervene in a last-ditch attempt to keep fees at an acceptable rate.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 30 June 2026
  • With an $800 daily fine soon going into effect over her 2024 civil contempt ruling, Fox News alum Catherine Herridge‘s legal team has petitioned for a stay after she was ordered to reveal her sources for her 2017 stories about Yanping Chen.
    — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 26 June 2026
Definition of petitioned
Verb
  • Police said former professional soccer player Badea and another man attacked Zeraati before fleeing in a getaway car driven by Stana and then flying out of the country from Heathrow Airport.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 July 2026
  • The three men who attacked our CBS News Chicago crew near Adler Planetarium before pointing a gun at people in Brighton Park on Monday afternoon have been charged.
    — Jeramie Bizzle, CBS News, 2 July 2026
Definition of attacked
Verb
  • Jude, meanwhile, was shifting from tossing cones to tugging at his ears, afflicted with the same malady that had landed several of the toddlers on the room’s version of the injury list.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 30 June 2026
  • They are both afflicted by cognitive and/or hearing issues.
    — Eric Thomas, Sun Sentinel, 22 June 2026
Definition of afflicted
Verb
  • Yet, the same people who begged for this opportunity for years suddenly want to police the moment.
    — Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 30 June 2026
  • Up to this point, Ruthye has begged Supergirl to help her exact revenge on Krem, which the heroine has refused, so the alignment of their goals ends up a convenient happenstance.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 26 June 2026
Definition of begged
Verb
  • 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, Literary Hub, 9 June 2026
Definition of beleaguered
Verb
  • The Washington Principles also recognize that many sales of artwork by Jews during the Nazi era occurred while they were being persecuted, or under duress.
    — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 29 June 2026
  • Representatives of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine have been persecuted.
    — Mark Temnycky, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026
Definition of persecuted

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Cite this Entry

“Besieged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/besieged. Accessed 9 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of besieged for Spanish Speakers

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