embattled

adjective

em·bat·tled | \im-ˈba-tᵊld

Definition of embattled

1a : 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

2a : being a site of battle, conflict, or controversy the embattled capital

b : characterized by conflict or controversy an embattled presidency

Examples of embattled in a Sentence

the embattled coach of a losing team

Recent Examples on the Web

The plan would seek to prevent a full liquidation of the roughly 500 remaining stores and keep the embattled retailer operating under Mr. Lampert’s leadership. — Allison Prang, WSJ, "Lampert’s Hedge Fund Makes Bid for Sears Stores and Assets," 6 Dec. 2018 While co-hosts Michael Che and Colin Jost were delivering their opening monologue, Che cracked a joke about Laurie Metcalf's Emmy nomination for the embattled Roseanne revival, which was canceled after its namesake Roseanne Barr sent a racist tweet. — Lynsey Eidell, Allure, "Chrissy Teigen's Epic Facial Expression Just Won the 2018 Emmy Awards," 17 Sep. 2018 Indeed, Pruitt’s support from his the Trump base is a key reason why Trump has stuck with the embattled cabinet official. — Justin Worland, Time, "Scott Pruitt Is Fighting a Growing List of Scandals by Going to the Heartland," 14 June 2018 Her departure recalled other instances in which Mr. de Blasio had defended an embattled senior official before ultimately pushing the person out or seeing them abruptly leave his administration. — J. David Goodman, New York Times, "Embattled Housing Authority Chief in New York City Is Resigning," 9 Apr. 2018 The president is even more enthusiastic about another embattled official: Scott Pruitt. — Benjamin Hart, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump Sort of Goes to Bat for John Kelly After Negative Report," 8 Apr. 2018 The unusual hires are raising questions about whether the embattled Cabinet official is circumventing President Trump’s ethics directives or using his emergency hiring authority as intended. — Dino Grandoni, Washington Post, "The Energy 202: Environmentalists, ethics experts question Scott Pruitt's unusual hiring practice," 4 Apr. 2018 An exception came with Murkowski, a crucial swing vote who voted not to advance the embattled nominee ahead. — Julyssa Lopez, Glamour, "Brett Kavanaugh Has Been Confirmed to the Supreme Court," 6 Oct. 2018 In just a matter of days, the allegations have transformed Jackson’s reputation as a celebrated doctor attending the president to an embattled nominee accused of drinking on the job and over-prescribing drugs. — Hope Yen, Time, "Details Emerge of Veterans Affairs Nominee Ronny Jackson's Alleged Drunken Behavior and Drug Distribution," 26 Apr. 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.