embattled

adjective em·bat·tled \ im-ˈba-tᵊld \

Updated on: 17 Apr 2018

Definition of embattled

1 a : ready to fight : prepared to give battle

here once the embattled farmers stood
—R. W. Emerson

b : engaged in battle, conflict, or controversy

an embattled official accused of extortion

2 a : being a site of battle, conflict, or controversy

the embattled capital

b : characterized by conflict or controversy

an embattled presidency

See embattled defined for English-language learners

See embattled defined for kids

Examples of embattled in a Sentence

the embattled coach of a losing team

Recent Examples of embattled from the Web

And those answers may play a crucial role in shaping the laws that regulators at home and abroad place on the embattled tech company and its contemporaries.

— issie lapowsky, WIRED, "Mark Zuckerberg Answers to Congress For Facebook's Troubles," 10 Apr. 2018
While clearly a riff on the embattled social media company’s ongoing privacy scandal, the skit hit close to home for many viewers who are unhappy with the company’s handling of their personal information.

— alix langone, Fortune, "Saturday Night Live Trolls Mark Zuckerberg on 'Weekend Update'," 8 Apr. 2018
Facebook will now require political advertisers to verify their identities and locations before they are approved to buy ads, the embattled social media company announced on Friday.

— NBC News, "Facebook announces major changes to political ad policies," 6 Apr. 2018
The Lake County Council will be taking another shot at its embattled hiring freeze ordinance Tuesday after commissioners in March again vetoed an effort to get the measure passed.

— carrie napoleon, Post-Tribune, "Lake County Council prepares for new look at vetoed hiring freeze plan," 6 Apr. 2018
And with the next collective bargaining agreement still years away, there’s no way for the embattled players union to fix any of those issues in time for him or the rest of the players set to hit free agency this winter.

— jon tayler, SI.com, "Once One of 2018's Top Free Agents, Charlie Blackmon Safely Signs Extension With Rockies," 5 Apr. 2018
Warren East, the embattled British company’s chief executive, fessed up this month that replacing faulty turbine blades in engines on 787s will cost it £580m ($800m) over the next two years.

— The Economist, "The world’s three biggest engine-makers hit a snag," 22 Mar. 2018
News from Uber: Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi used the forum as a platform to announce the embattled company would be profitable within three years.

— tory newmyer, Washington Post, "The Finance 202, Davos Edition: Trump trade officials and India may be on a collision course," 23 Jan. 2018
Rather than giving Jackson the best opportunity to tame the embattled agency, every action Trump has taken ensured that he’ll be be met with skepticism in his new role.

— margaret hartmann, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump Is Setting Up His New VA Secretary to Fail," 30 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'embattled.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.