beset

verb

bi-ˈset How to pronounce beset (audio)
Definition of besetnext
1
as in to plague
to cause persistent suffering to he's been beset by a lack of self-confidence virtually his entire life

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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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of beset As told in the Devi Mahatmya, the gods are beset by the demon (asura) Mahishasura, who received a boon that he cannot be killed by a man—but he can be killed by a woman. — Charles Preston, Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Aug. 2026 The trial-scheduling order entered by Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Michael Schrama marked the latest milestone in a military prosecution beset by two decades of legal deadlock surrounding the four detainees held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. — Steve Gorman, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026 And Europe — the world’s fastest-warming continent — has been beset by extreme weather that has caused widespread droughts and blazes, marking some of the region’s gravest natural disasters on record. — Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 25 Aug. 2026 That could be part of the reason why Illinois suddenly seems to be beset by so many twisters. — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 14 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for beset
Recent Examples of Synonyms for beset
  1. plague
  2. attack
  3. afflict
  4. assault
  5. persecute
  6. raid
  7. besiege
  8. storm
Verb
  • Safety and crowding concerns will continue to plague the uptown jail when Jail North reopens to alleviate conditions, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden warned late Friday.
    — Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Jackson broke his foot last training camp when a teammate stepped on it during practice, and that injury plagued him all of 2025 and required an offseason procedure that kept him sidelined during OTAs and minicamp.
    — Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of plague
Verb
  • Tzolis plays the pass and, because the Arsenal players are attacking the diagonal, there are a number of receivers available.
    — Jon Mackenzie, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • In perhaps the coolest reversal in the show thus far, the Lanterns are attacked with guns that produce darkness, which manifests here as smoke but prevents them from seeing or creating light constructs.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of attack
Verb
  • The painful condition, which causes tissue similar to the lining of the uterus to grow on other parts of the body, afflicts 1 in 10 women worldwide.
    — Laura Ungar, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Unraveling Medical Mysteries Patients with undiagnosed conditions suffer not only from their symptoms but also from the uncertainly of not knowing what afflicts them.
    — The New York Review of Books, The New York Review of Books, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of afflict
Verb
  • An attack on two women outside a Lavender Heights nightclub early Monday, days after a member of the city’s LGBTQ community was assaulted, stoked new safety concerns in the midtown Sacramento neighborhood.
    — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Spence, who pleaded guilty to assault in aid of racketeering and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, could face between 24 and 27-and-a-half years behind bars.
    — John Annese, New York Daily News, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of assault
Verb
  • More generally, the movie, directed by Elegance Bratton, is about the historical context of this murder, the conscious and organized effort by white Southern citizens and officials to intimidate, persecute, and subjugate Black people.
    — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Many see Trump as the only president to defend Nigerian Christians; his administration claims they are being persecuted by Islamist groups.
    — Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of persecute
Verb
  • Police raided the home several times but failed to find the painting.
    — Sergio Farella, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026
  • In the footage, players follow the story of Jason and Lucia, a couple living in the fictional Vice City, who are picking up drugs, and their mission is thwarted by the police, who begin to raid the place.
    — Moises Mendez II, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of raid
Verb
  • In recent months, Israeli settlers have repeatedly besieged the village of Qusra, defying orders from the authorities to leave the area and trying to force Palestinian families, some of whom are also American citizens, out.
    — Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026
  • There has been a spate of Israeli settler violence in the West Bank, and the village of Qusra has been besieged by Israeli settlers for weeks.
    — F. Brinley Bruton, NBC news, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of besiege
Verb
  • On a cold night in November 2011, in a field outside Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, a gang of thugs stormed a Soviet scientific research institute, beat and humiliated the staff and burned the place to the ground.
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026
  • The second-chance Hail Mary led to the incomprehensible scene of the Michigan Stadium crowd storming the field to cheer the winningest program in Bowl Subdivision history eking out a victory over a Mid-American Conference school.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of storm

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beseems
beset
besets
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Cite this Entry

“Beset.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beset. Accessed 11 Sep. 2026.

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