Synonyms of besetting

besetting 1 of 2

adjective

bi-ˈse-tiŋ 

as in obsessive

caused by or suggestive of an irresistible urge

that woman's besetting need to meddle in the affairs of others

Synonyms & Similar Words

• obsessive
• impulsive
• compulsive
• driven
• obsessional
• uncontrollable
• automatic
• spontaneous
• instinctive
• irrepressible
• reflex
• mechanical
• unconscious
• unpredictable
• unthinking
• conditioned
• unwitting
• involuntary
• knee-jerk
• capricious
• whimsical

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• voluntary
• willful
• manageable
• controllable
• unforced
• resistible

besetting

2 of 2

verb

present participle of beset

1

as in plaguing

to cause persistent suffering to

he's been beset by a lack of self-confidence virtually his entire life

Synonyms & Similar Words

• plaguing
• afflicting
• persecuting
• besieging
• torturing
• bedeviling
• tormenting
• cursing
• attacking
• bothering
• excruciating
• troubling
• anguishing
• harrowing
• racking
• agonizing
• stinging
• assailing
• pursuing
• aggravating
• striking
• disturbing
• vexing
• worrying
• dogging
• distressing
• overwhelming
• annoying
• exasperating
• harassing
• irritating
• irking
• harrying
• hounding
• oppressing
• badgering
• bugging
• pestering
• nettling
• upsetting
• griping
• trying
• hurting
• perturbing
• riding
• chafing
• agitating
• stressing
• disquieting
• grieving
• riling
• discomforting
• molesting
• galling
• smiting
• victimizing
• tyrannizing
• overpowering
• piquing
• stabbing
• grating
• smarting
• straining
• crushing
• pricking
• peeving
• putting out
• rasping
• flustering
• wringing
• paining
• discomposing
• getting
• panging
• hagriding
• martyring

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• assisting
• helping
• aiding
• abetting
• relieving
• delivering
• releasing
• contenting
• quieting
• comforting
• consoling
• soothing
• succoring
• reprieving
• solacing

2

as in attacking

to take sudden, violent action against

the unsuspecting tourists were suddenly beset by robbers

Synonyms & Similar Words

• attacking
• assaulting
• raiding
• storming
• striking
• robbing
• assailing
• ambushing
• invading
• charging
• swarming
• turning (on)
• descending (on or upon)
• rushing
• going in (on)
• setting on
• jumping (on)
• siccing
• setting at
• flying at
• setting upon
• going at
• tearing into
• bushwhacking
• trashing
• pouncing (on or upon)
• besieging
• pitching into
• beating up on
• ravaging
• waylaying
• rounding on
• surprising
• flanking
• mobbing
• buffeting
• lighting into
• sacking
• plundering
• bombarding
• beleaguering
• battering
• mugging
• bombing
• harrying
• ganging up (on)
• looting
• nuking
• barraging
• pillaging
• overrunning
• enveloping
• blitzing
• cannonading
• ambuscading
• cannoning
• bum-rushing
• banging away (at)
• pressing
• plastering
• foraying

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• covering
• protecting
• defending
• securing
• guarding
• shielding

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of besetting

Verb

Rodent infestation and mold are among the many problems besetting the 19th-century estate. — David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 26 June 2026

Both mother and daughter reflect on the troubles besetting their own family, as the mother tries to write a novel. — Michael Schaub, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2026

The Leafs needed an NHL player with injuries besetting their blue line. — Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2026

To his sons, however, the Party offers meaning and purpose—a powerful countervailing force to the lack of prospects besetting their generation, which had been decimated by the Great War. — Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2025