1
as in blockaded
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 plagued
to cause persistent suffering to
a family besieged by worries about the faltering economy
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in petitioned
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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Recent Examples of besieged
And in the center of the city, where the overflowing rivers are predicted to merge, Thomas Orthopedic Hospital could be besieged by more than 10 feet of water on three sides.
—
CNN Money, 5 Oct. 2025
If your flower beds were besieged with pests or fungal diseases, the fallen leaf litter and stems from those plants should not be left in the garden.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 4 Oct. 2025
Ruling an isolated, ruined, and besieged Gaza Strip will not get Hamas closer to this objective—but building up a strong political presence in the West Bank could, and accepting the latest proposal could free Hamas to do this.
—Hussein Ibish, The Atlantic, 1 Oct. 2025
Landslide in western Sudan kills at least 1,000 A landslide in western Sudan killed at least 1,000 people, intensifying hardship in a country besieged by years of civil war.
—Tasneem Nashrulla, semafor.com, 4 Sep. 2025
Validated Insights To even the most casual observer, these must feel like belligerent times in higher education – surrounded by fires, besieged, and under crushing market pressures all at once.
—Derek Newton, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
In recent months, the Kennedy Center has been besieged by performance cancelations both voluntary and involuntary.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 26 Mar. 2025
At the start of the invasion, Russian troops besieged the city, forcing residents to endure harsh winter conditions without electricity or water under constant shelling from Russian artillery, missiles and drones.
—Illia Novikov, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2025
Consumers are besieged nearly every day about some news about Elon Musk’s latest moves at the Department of Government Efficiency to gain access to government records that contain sensitive personal data, including Social Security numbers.
—Susan Tompor, USA TODAY, 1 Mar. 2025
CNN Money, 5 Oct. 2025
If your flower beds were besieged with pests or fungal diseases, the fallen leaf litter and stems from those plants should not be left in the garden.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 4 Oct. 2025
Ruling an isolated, ruined, and besieged Gaza Strip will not get Hamas closer to this objective—but building up a strong political presence in the West Bank could, and accepting the latest proposal could free Hamas to do this.
—Hussein Ibish, The Atlantic, 1 Oct. 2025
Landslide in western Sudan kills at least 1,000 A landslide in western Sudan killed at least 1,000 people, intensifying hardship in a country besieged by years of civil war.
—Tasneem Nashrulla, semafor.com, 4 Sep. 2025
Validated Insights To even the most casual observer, these must feel like belligerent times in higher education – surrounded by fires, besieged, and under crushing market pressures all at once.
—Derek Newton, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
In recent months, the Kennedy Center has been besieged by performance cancelations both voluntary and involuntary.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 26 Mar. 2025
At the start of the invasion, Russian troops besieged the city, forcing residents to endure harsh winter conditions without electricity or water under constant shelling from Russian artillery, missiles and drones.
—Illia Novikov, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2025
Consumers are besieged nearly every day about some news about Elon Musk’s latest moves at the Department of Government Efficiency to gain access to government records that contain sensitive personal data, including Social Security numbers.
—Susan Tompor, USA TODAY, 1 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for besieged
Verb
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Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet blockaded Ukrainian ports, occupied Snake Island, and threatened Odessa, the country’s main coastal city.—
ANDRIY ZAGORODNYUK,
Foreign Affairs,
23 Sep. 2025
-
By the late 1940s, concerns shifted toward the threat posed by the Soviet Union, which stationed large military forces across Eastern Europe, staged a coup in Czechoslovakia and blockaded Berlin.—
John Deni,
The Conversation,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But internally, Artie is struggling, plagued by feelings of isolation and the constant thought that the world has gone mad.—
Clare Fisher,
PEOPLE,
1 Oct. 2025
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Bob McCann, executive director of The K-12 Alliance of Michigan, said the message from the governor and state superintendent telling school officials to spend money on school meals after the budget logjam in Lansing plagued them with months of funding uncertainty was met with frustration.—
Clara Hendrickson,
Freep.com,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The court is also poised to take up a number of cases related to transgender people’s rights, and the Justice Department has petitioned it to review Trump’s order ending birthright citizenship.—
Shelby Talcott,
semafor.com,
6 Oct. 2025
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Kobach has petitioned top Republican lawmakers to convene a special session with the goal of blocking the Kansas Department of Revenue from resuming its practice of accommodating gender marker change requests, according to a letter sent to GOP lawmakers and obtained by The Star.—
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The Eagles attacked Skinner again, and the home crowd begged for a flag after the safety aggressively defended tight end Dallas Goedert, but no penalty was called.—
Nick Kosmider,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
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In the southern border city of Sderot, which was attacked on October 7, and is frequently the target of rocket fire, a group of Israelis gathered at an observation deck overlooking Gaza to revel in its ruin.—
Zeena Saifi,
CNN Money,
5 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Subsequent names didn't stick either, despite cases of this unusual form of diabetes continuing to surface, especially in areas afflicted with malnutrition.—
Jonathan Lambert,
NPR,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Just look at poverty, violence and health and housing inequities that have long afflicted Fairhill and West Kensington, two adjacent and heavily Puerto Rican neighborhoods in North Philadelphia.—
Héctor M. Varela Rios,
The Conversation,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The Eagles attacked Skinner again, and the home crowd begged for a flag after the safety aggressively defended tight end Dallas Goedert, but no penalty was called.—
Nick Kosmider,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
-
The situation worsened and the friends begged Thomas to use his KPop Demon Hunters knowledge to help them.—
Raven Brunner,
PEOPLE,
5 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Original concepts include mazes set in a demonic version of the Old West, a life-sized toybox full of twisted dolls and a frozen Northern town beleaguered by monsters.—
Julie Tremaine,
Forbes.com,
28 Aug. 2025
Verb
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This Committee was initially created during the McCarthy Era, a dark time when the federal government repressed and persecuted American citizens for their political beliefs.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Leatherface attacks, but the real villains turn out to be the townsfolk who persecuted the Sawyers after the original massacre.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
21 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Besieged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/besieged. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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