BESIEGE Synonyms: 154 Similar and Opposite Words

besiege

verb

bi-ˈsēj

Definition of besiege

as in to attack

to surround (as a fortified place) with armed forces for the purpose of capturing or preventing commerce and communication armies besieged the city for six months before it finally surrendered

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to plague

to cause persistent suffering to a family besieged by worries about the faltering economy

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to beg

to make a request to (someone) in an earnest or urgent manner bereaved parents continued to besiege the president with pleas to end the war

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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 besiege As a result, the federal court in South Florida has been besieged with habeas petitions. — Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 30 July 2026 This week’s ruling is the latest development in the long-running legal saga, which launched in the wake of resident complaints that the autonomous vehicle company’s round-the-clock operation was besieging them with noise, light and traffic. — Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2026 The species is now endangered, extinct on the Australian mainland for three thousand years and besieged on the island that is its last refuge. — John Drake, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026 The sidebar will open with Netflix’s Below, from creator Jesse McKeown, a six-part supernatural thriller that centers on a seaside town Newfoundland besieged by a sea creature and stars Mackenzie Davis, Charlie Heaton and Josh Hartnett. — Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 23 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for besiege

Recent Examples of Synonyms for besiege

Verb

That strike came after Kuwait said Iran attacked one of its water facilities.

— Hanna Ziady, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026
The chain of events that led to another extermination began when Lauren Cohan’s Maggie and Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Negan captured their season 2 nemesis, the Dama (Lisa Emery), after the big bad had her men attack them.

— Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of attack

Verb

What did Widow’s Bay creator and showrunner Katie Dippold see in Matthew Rhys as Tom Loftis, mayor of the New England island town plagued by a historic curse?

— Beatrice Verhoeven, HollywoodReporter, 7 Aug. 2026
South Africa is plagued by violence, but extensive research has found that white South African farmers are not victims of crime at higher rates than other groups.

— Anna Maria Barry-Jester, ProPublica, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of plague

Verb

Iran’s proxies in the region, the Houthis, have since blockaded another strait – the Bab-al-Mandeb – challenging Saudi Arabia’s ability to export oil through that alternate route.

— David Goldman, CNN Money, 3 Aug. 2026
During the early nineteen-eighties, when Paul Volcker, the chair of the Federal Reserve, raised interest rates to twenty per cent in the face of rampant inflation, furious farmers blockaded the Fed’s headquarters with their tractors.

— John Cassidy, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of blockade

Verb

Repeat this process once the soil has dried again, until affected plants are no longer afflicted with pests.

— Abby Monteil, The Spruce, 1 Aug. 2026
Blending horror with comedy, the Apple TV show takes place in a fictitious New England island town afflicted by a centuries-old curse that brings about supernatural evils.

— Beatrice Verhoeven, HollywoodReporter, 31 July 2026

Definition of afflict

Verb

This year, more than 1,400 UC faculty members—including several mathematics department chairs—petitioned the university to reinstate standardized testing, citing steep declines in incoming students' math preparedness.

— Christopher Rim, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
In 2027, the law will expand to allow mental illness as a reason to petition for MAID.

— Sai Rajagopal, STAT, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of petition

Verb

The paint color that encircles the wallpaper is important, but Chloe Redmond Warner says the bread should be the least exciting part of this sandwich.

— Kelsey Mulvey, Vogue, 6 Aug. 2026
The pendant, which is encircled by diamonds, also includes a heart between the initials.

— Juliana Ukiomogbe, InStyle, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of encircle

Verb

Although the two programs similarly target humanitarian concerns, being a TPS holder does not guarantee asylum, which requires that applicants prove they’ve been persecuted on specific grounds.

— Cameron Pugh, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Aug. 2026
In The Bacchae, Dionysus becomes violent only because his existence has been denied and his followers persecuted, and his maenads similarly become destructive only when pursued.

— Angelica Frey, JSTOR Daily, 31 July 2026