1
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to plague
to cause persistent suffering to
a family besieged by worries about the faltering economy
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3
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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of besiege
Trump and his team described the U.S. capital as besieged by chaos, and eager to be overrun by law enforcement.
—
Philip Elliott, Time, 11 Aug. 2025
Today, some 30,000 Druze and Christians are besieged—without water, electricity, food, or medicine.
—Nuri Kino, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 July 2025
At lunch with Paul Giamatti on Monday, Colbert was besieged by supporters.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 25 July 2025
Also great for very, very expensively besieging castles.
—Evan Ackermanerico Guizzo, IEEE Spectrum, 29 Jan. 2016
See All Example Sentences for besiege
Philip Elliott, Time, 11 Aug. 2025
Today, some 30,000 Druze and Christians are besieged—without water, electricity, food, or medicine.
—Nuri Kino, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 July 2025
At lunch with Paul Giamatti on Monday, Colbert was besieged by supporters.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 25 July 2025
Also great for very, very expensively besieging castles.
—Evan Ackermanerico Guizzo, IEEE Spectrum, 29 Jan. 2016
See All Example Sentences for besiege
Recent Examples of Synonyms for besiege
Verb
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Charlie was the best of America, and the monster who attacked him was attacking our whole country.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
11 Sep. 2025
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Estonian police said the drone was likely en route to attack targets inside Russia.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The Tigers have been plagued by poor starting pitching, a thin bullpen and an offense that hasn’t played with the same spark since the All-Star break.—
Cody Stavenhagen,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
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Aligning With San Francisco’s Health Care Security Ordinance San Francisco’s Health Care Security Ordinance was designed to expand access, but the system has long been plagued by complexity.—
Chelsea Davis,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Each room and common area feels like a treasure box; there’s hardly an inch of space that doesn’t beg you to stop, snap a photo, and admire the artistic composition.—
Lydia Mansel,
Southern Living,
10 Sep. 2025
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The Academy is forcing me to beg political people to screen and select my film.—
Anne Thompson,
IndieWire,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But others describe the reality of the early weeks, where discussion was completely hampered by Israel's insistence on fully blockading aid into Gaza.—
Tom Bowman,
NPR,
28 Aug. 2025
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Egypt is Gaza’s only access to the outside world as Israel has blockaded the territory from the land, sea and air.—
Becky Anderson,
CNN Money,
18 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Those who dismissed intersectionality saw such policies as little more than allowing the disadvantaged to commit crimes without consequences to make up for past inequities, afflicting crime victims from the same disadvantaged communities.—
John Scott Lewinski,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Sep. 2025
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Griffin, who does clinical work in Long Island, New York, said his sister-in-law is in her 40s and quite wary of long COVID, the enduring, debilitating health issues that have afflicted millions of Americans who contracted the coronavirus.—
Jorge L. Ortiz,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Haunted by the lack of answers and stymied by Mexican authorities, Barraza has turned to Chicago attorney John Lee to petition an international tribunal for help in finding the truth and getting justice.—
Ray Long,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Sep. 2025
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Heuermann's defense team petitioned the judge to exclude the evidence, arguing that whole genome sequencing is not widely accepted by the scientific community.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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By Friday evening, the fire crew successfully encircled the entire perimeter of the fire in control lines.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
6 Sep. 2025
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Israeli tanks now encircle the coastal city from north, south and east.—
Aya Batrawy,
NPR,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The decree eliminated many of the civil liberties in Germany, opening the way for the Nazis to persecute their opponents.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
9 Sep. 2025
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More and more, people who have loyally served Putin’s system are being persecuted, mainly on the grounds of corruption.—
ANDREI KOLESNIKOV,
Foreign Affairs,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Besiege.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/besiege. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.
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