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 States will assert ownership of fishing grounds, tamper with undersea cables, and, potentially, conquer or besiege islands. — Michael Albertus, Foreign Affairs, 30 Sep. 2026 The settlers who carried out the attack in Jalud overnight are the same group who besieged the home of a Palestinian-American in the neighboring village of Qusra last month, local residents say. — Zeena Saifi, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 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 One of them, Muammar Ibrahim, reported for Al Jazeera’s Arabic network while the city was besieged. — Mat Nashed, Christian Science Monitor, 27 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for besiege

Recent Examples of Synonyms for besiege

Verb

Hawley said the majority of conflicts between humans and coyotes occurs when a pet owner tries to save their pet from an attacking coyote.

— Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 2 Nov. 2026
Running as the populist candidate, Brown has repeatedly attacked Husted as the face of data centers in the state and pushed to take on Silicon Valley if elected to office again.

— Mabinty Quarshie, The Washington Examiner, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of attack

Verb

Gallagher has also sought to tie McGuire to cost-of-living problems plaguing Californians, such as the price of gasoline and housing.

— Andrew Graham, Sacbee.com, 4 Nov. 2026
Yet the overall mission is plagued with challenges, including the ongoing fighting, questions over American support and the outcome of the upcoming French elections.

— ABC News, ABC News, 3 Nov. 2026

Definition of plague

Verb

Fans have been begging Carey to free Someone’s Ugly Daughter from the archives for years, with the album currently existing only under the pseudonym Chick with Clarissa Dane on vocals instead of Mimi.

— Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 2 Nov. 2026
A couple of passing witches in distressed fish-nets aww-ed at the sight of the dog begging for the second half of his cone.

— Téa Obreht, New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2026

Definition of beg

Verb

Major demonstrations were also expected in 50 other cities and towns across Italy, while protesters are also expected to blockade ports in Genoa, Livorno, Trieste and elsewhere.

— Richard Engel, NBC news, 30 Oct. 2026
In the south, farmers and truckers have blockaded ports and highways in protest of those same high fuel costs.

— Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of blockade

Verb

The margin was so wide that issues that afflicted Republicans’ electoral chances elsewhere in the country, including high gas prices and the Iran war, didn’t substantially harm Tuberville.

— Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 4 Nov. 2026
Today, Alzheimer’s afflicts roughly one in nine Americans over sixty-five and, along with related dementias, has been estimated to cost the economy about three-quarters of a trillion dollars a year.

— Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of afflict

Verb

Some are petitioning the State to dissolve the Union, to disregard the requisitions of the President.

— René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Oct. 2026
New Jersey petitioned the Supreme Court to resolve the circuit split, and 39 other states and the District of Columbia filed a brief supporting New Jersey’s petition.

— Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of petition

Verb

The encircling coils generate the magnetic field needed to confine the plasma, while the smaller shaping magnets fine-tune its configuration.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 5 Nov. 2026
Al-Mughayyir, a town of 3,000 increasingly encircled by Israeli settlements, is about seven miles from Deir Jarir — the trip can take over an hour due to military checkpoints.

— Suheir Hashimeh, Washington Post, 1 Nov. 2026

Definition of encircle

Verb

The Paxton campaign decried the reporting, without denying it, while saying he had been politically persecuted.

— Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 4 Nov. 2026
The company named all its weapons after Ukrainian intellectuals and artists killed or persecuted by Russians in the last century.

— Joanna Kakissis, NPR, 29 Oct. 2026