Synonyms of beleaguer

beleaguer

verb

bi-ˈlē-gər 

as in to besiege

to surround (as a fortified place) with armed forces for the purpose of capturing or preventing commerce and communication

beleaguered the castle for months

Synonyms & Similar Words

• besiege
• attack
• encircle
• blockade
• assault
• leaguer
• invest
• lay siege to
• assail
• beset
• dam
• cut off
• barricade
• confine
• isolate
• block
• insulate
• quarantine

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• liberate
• release
• rescue
• free
• emancipate

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of beleaguer

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, 9 June 2026

Their involvement now raises the specter of another squeeze on energy markets already beleaguered by closures on the Strait of Hormuz and partly reliant on the Red Sea as an alternative passageway for energy supplies. — Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2026

This spring, graduates are leaving their respective alma maters and entering a job market that is beleaguered with uncertainty. — Adam Harris, The Atlantic, 21 May 2026

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