1
as in to plague
to cause persistent suffering to
he's been beset by a lack of self-confidence virtually his entire life
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to attack
to take sudden, violent action against
the unsuspecting tourists were suddenly beset by robbers
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of beset
In the wake of the extinction, on a planet beset by extreme swings in climate, with long periods of searing heat and brutal drought, Lystrosaurus flourished, becoming the most abundant terrestrial vertebrate around.
—
Kate Wong, Scientific American, 15 Apr. 2026
Prez was at the Heat arena for UFC 327 Saturday night as Carlos Ulberg won the light-heavyweight championship despite being beset by a knee injury.
—Miami Herald, 12 Apr. 2026
Indeed, Lyric has avoided the severe financial crisis that has beset its much larger peer, New York’s Metropolitan Opera, which has been forced to draw down its endowment to cover budget deficits.
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 9 Apr. 2026
However, this agreement was beset by mutual violations, including hundreds on the Israeli side.
—Mireille Rebeiz, The Conversation, 8 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for beset
Kate Wong, Scientific American, 15 Apr. 2026
Prez was at the Heat arena for UFC 327 Saturday night as Carlos Ulberg won the light-heavyweight championship despite being beset by a knee injury.
—Miami Herald, 12 Apr. 2026
Indeed, Lyric has avoided the severe financial crisis that has beset its much larger peer, New York’s Metropolitan Opera, which has been forced to draw down its endowment to cover budget deficits.
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 9 Apr. 2026
However, this agreement was beset by mutual violations, including hundreds on the Israeli side.
—Mireille Rebeiz, The Conversation, 8 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for beset
Recent Examples of Synonyms for beset
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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Clayton Peavey, 31, used a concrete brick to attack a Chick-fil-A employee in March, leaving her with several gashes on her head and requiring stitches.—
Ruben Vives,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Apr. 2026
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Mendoza is accurate to all three levels of the field and has developed a great understanding of when and where to attack down the field.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
24 Apr. 2026
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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In one case about a week ago, a Hollywood Hills resident suffered minor injuries when she was assaulted by burglars after the intruders were discovered in the home.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Apr. 2026
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In the course of the narrative, as John is embraced by friends and assaulted by strangers, Jones’s storytelling veers between breakthroughs and setbacks with a rhythm so mechanical as to verge on metronomic.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
17 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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The company had its offices raided and several bank accounts frozen, according to Malaysian business publication The Edge.—
Angelica Ang,
Fortune,
9 Apr. 2026
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Separately, police in Moscow raided the offices of the prominent independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, whose chief editor Dmitry Muratov was a Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 2021.—
Dasha Litvinova,
Los Angeles Times,
9 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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Certainly, classmates know the perpetrators, as do some parents who have stormed at least one school board session seeking answers.—
Charles Selle,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Apr. 2026
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An invading army of tens of thousands of soldiers led by Lucius Cornelius Sulla, an influential commander and later dictator of Rome, stormed the town’s walls with slings and catapults.—
Taylor Mitchell Brown,
Scientific American,
20 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Beset.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beset. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
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