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 Boston was besieged by the Tartan Army. — Becky Sullivan, NPR, 28 June 2026 Boris Yeltsin, to everyone’s shock, had then walked through the crowd and climbed one of the Soviet tanks besieging him. — Literary Hub, 22 June 2026 The mass shooting that claimed 49 lives and injured dozens of others—the deadliest hate crime targeting LGBTQ+ people in American history—still leaves a grievous mark, most especially in a city, state and nation besieged with new attacks on the gay community. — R. Daniel Foster, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026 Tony season in New York is a veritable marathon for theater-folk, who are besieged by invites to countless classy events in succession. — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 7 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for besiege

Recent Examples of Synonyms for besiege

Verb

Investigators determined that a group of men had attacked him at his San Jose home and that one of them struck him in the face with the handle of a firearm, police said.

— Molly Gibbs, Mercury News, 21 July 2026
Refineries are maxed out, especially after Iran attacked 30 Middle Eastern refineries during the course of the war.

— David Goldman, CNN Money, 21 July 2026

Definition of attack

Verb

Entering Friday’s contest, Clark was supposed to be on a minutes restriction due to a back injury that has plagued her all season.

— James Boyd, New York Times, 18 July 2026
But controversies are plaguing the league, Clark has become an unwilling symbol of racial polarization and GOP members of Congress are entering the fray.

— Joel Mathis, TheWeek, 17 July 2026

Definition of plague

Verb

Ukrainian drone strikes have forced Russia to completely halt shipping in the Sea of Azov in less than a week—showing once again how a country without traditional naval power can still effectively blockade maritime corridors.

— Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 13 July 2026
Much of the social scene centered around protesting, with friends gathering on weekends to march or blockade or occupy the upper branches of a tree in the name of whatever cause seemed most urgent.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 July 2026

Definition of blockade

Verb

Forty-nine of the afflicted have been hospitalized; of those, thirty-four have gone home.

— News Desk, Artforum, 15 July 2026
Jonestown afflicted Naipaul’s vision, his way of deciphering not just political manias but the dreariness of urban life, the perpetual doom of the nuclear-arms race.

— Hua Hsu, New Yorker, 14 July 2026

Definition of afflict

Verb

According to the documents, Chase died without a will, prompting her mother, Cathy Chase, to petition the court to be appointed administrator of the estate.

— Angelique Brenes, PEOPLE, 14 July 2026
In 1994, a stipulation was added to allow a team to petition the Commissioner for permission to have players’ names put on the Stanley Cup if extenuating circumstances prevented them from being available to play.

— Sean Gentille, New York Times, 10 July 2026

Definition of petition

Verb

Also on Wednesday, Blume returned a Pablo Picasso bust, Fernande/Beatrice (1905), to the descendants of German-Jewish dealer Alfred Flechtheim, who was persecuted by the Reich, reports TAN.

— Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 16 July 2026
Mahmoud Khalil alleges private groups, including the conservative Heritage Foundation, and public leaders conspired to persecute him.

— Susan Svrluga, Washington Post, 14 July 2026