as in to afflict
to cause persistent suffering to
a lingering cold bedeviled me for over a month
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Recent Examples of bedevil
Jackson was responding to rising concerns, among Americans of all races, about jobs, wages, affordability, and inequality—concerns that have now bedevilled the country for nearly forty years.
—
John Cassidy, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026
In a joint interview with the Chronicle, Uzelac and Executive Director Jennifer Delacroix blamed the cancellation on factors bedeviling many performing arts companies struggling to recover from the pandemic.
—Theater Critic, San Francisco Chronicle, 13 Feb. 2026
Mattison was excited about the possibility of helping the Dolphins solve their short-yardage shortcomings, a problem that had bedeviled them the previous two seasons.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 3 Feb. 2026
Libya’s central bank is suing Zimbabwe’s finance minister and national oil company for more than $100 million, the latest development in a spiraling debt crisis that’s bedeviled the southern African nation for a quarter of a century.
—William Clowes, Bloomberg, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bedevil
John Cassidy, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026
In a joint interview with the Chronicle, Uzelac and Executive Director Jennifer Delacroix blamed the cancellation on factors bedeviling many performing arts companies struggling to recover from the pandemic.
—Theater Critic, San Francisco Chronicle, 13 Feb. 2026
Mattison was excited about the possibility of helping the Dolphins solve their short-yardage shortcomings, a problem that had bedeviled them the previous two seasons.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 3 Feb. 2026
Libya’s central bank is suing Zimbabwe’s finance minister and national oil company for more than $100 million, the latest development in a spiraling debt crisis that’s bedeviled the southern African nation for a quarter of a century.
—William Clowes, Bloomberg, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bedevil
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bedevil
Verb
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Washington’s version of McCall is disciplined but damaged, and possibly afflicted with something like obsessive-compulsive disorder.—
Kelefa Sanneh,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
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It was most recently extended in August 2024 for 18 months by the Biden administration, which cited economic, security, political and health crises afflicting the Caribbean nation.—
Caitlin Yilek,
CBS News,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
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But the Cubs’ offensive woes plagued them more than a misthrow from their reliever.—
Andy Martinez,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Apr. 2026
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By the same token, one of the biggest bugs plaguing AMC’s The Audacity may be the timing.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Alex isn’t persecuted for being trans.—
Brittany Delay,
Mercury News,
17 Apr. 2026
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Jews were not necessarily being persecuted in Hungary at that point.—
Marcy Thompson,
Scientific American,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In a similar vein, the Business section featured an article on our inequitable national tax structure, which enables the wealthy to grow their wealth while most people, besieged by income taxes and rising property taxes, struggle.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
10 Apr. 2026
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Early on, the Biden team had been besieged with desperate pleas to ship more of the then scarce vaccine.—
David Blumenthal,
STAT,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Budgetary shortfalls have beset other large cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles.—
Ishani Desai,
Sacbee.com,
20 Apr. 2026
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But all was not well in America in 1976, in the aftermath of the unpopular Vietnam War and the presidential scandal that was Watergate, and beset by soaring gasoline prices amid crisis in the Middle East.—
Bill Shaikin,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bedevil.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bedevil. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
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