as in to afflict
to cause persistent suffering to
a lingering cold bedeviled me for over a month
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bedevil
Perhaps in Iran, which has been engulfed by mass protests, leading the president to threaten action against an oppressive regime that has bedeviled the United States for nearly half a century.
—
Jonathan Lemire, The Atlantic, 13 Jan. 2026
Visit our website Demographic concentration bedevils the goal of integration.
—Ray Domanico, Washington Post, 9 Jan. 2026
These questions will be tough, likely impossible, to answer to everyone's satisfaction — and several have bedeviled lawmakers, and Iowans, before.
—Rachel E. Stassen-Berger, Des Moines Register, 8 Jan. 2026
This is just the latest in a string of shellfish heists bedeviling the Northeast where lobster, crabs, and oysters have gone missing in recent weeks.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 31 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bedevil
Jonathan Lemire, The Atlantic, 13 Jan. 2026
Visit our website Demographic concentration bedevils the goal of integration.
—Ray Domanico, Washington Post, 9 Jan. 2026
These questions will be tough, likely impossible, to answer to everyone's satisfaction — and several have bedeviled lawmakers, and Iowans, before.
—Rachel E. Stassen-Berger, Des Moines Register, 8 Jan. 2026
This is just the latest in a string of shellfish heists bedeviling the Northeast where lobster, crabs, and oysters have gone missing in recent weeks.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 31 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bedevil
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bedevil
Verb
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Loan defaults, foreclosures, and hotel property auctions due to distressed financing show that an array of ailments afflict the region’s lodging market.—
George Avalos,
Mercury News,
10 Feb. 2026
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Last year the Make-A-Wish Foundation flew Luke, who was afflicted with a rare life-threatening blood disorder in high school, to Denver to meet his hero.—
Taylor Antrim,
Vogue,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In recent years, neighborhoods ranging from Hancock Park and Lincoln Heights to Mar Vista and Pico Union have been plagued by copper wire theft that darkens the streets.—
Melissa Gomez,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026
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Christie has been one of the most consistent Mavericks in a season plagued by inconsistency.—
Mike Curtis,
Dallas Morning News,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Branding peaceful protesters as ‘terrorists,’ and Christians that are persecuted every year as ‘Zionist mercenaries,’ is nothing but scapegoating.—
Benjamin Weinthal,
FOXNews.com,
13 Feb. 2026
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The Secret Agent’s primary setting is a house full of misfits and refugees in the northeastern city of Recife, a safe harbor from those persecuted by the country’s military regime, ruled over by the inimitable Dona Sebastiana (Tânia Maria, whose role was written specifically for her).—
Nate Jones,
Vulture,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The Adams administration was besieged with corruption at every level—the Blackness of the perpetrators was of no solace.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Feb. 2026
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Meanwhile, Don Lemon also enjoyed a standing ovation and was besieged by people all night to express their gratitude and support after he was arrested and charged for an anti-ICE protest just two days before.—
Rob LeDonne,
Rolling Stone,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
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This could prove a key development in an investigation beset by false starts and stops.—
Richard Winton,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Feb. 2026
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With the sport beset by technical controversies this season — two Norwegian coaches were banned from these Olympics after being caught illegally altering the crotch seams of their jumpers during last year’s world championships — intrigue was immediately high.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
14 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bedevil.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bedevil. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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