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
Meanwhile, Earth itself is suddenly besieged by an alien invasion.
—
Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
For more than a year, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has besieged El Fasher, its final major barrier to controlling Darfur.
—Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 28 Oct. 2025
Made in Italy is besieged, and action must be taken to safeguard the local supply chain and its reputation.
—Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 24 Oct. 2025
Since its municipal establishment in 2018, Roku City has been a metropolis intermittently besieged by mythical creatures including a kraken, a big robot, and a Godzilla-like kaiju.
—Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2025
She is besieged on all sides—by her in-laws, by social workers, by untreated psychosis—and yet in possession of a terrible freedom.
—Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 8 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
Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
For more than a year, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has besieged El Fasher, its final major barrier to controlling Darfur.
—Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 28 Oct. 2025
Made in Italy is besieged, and action must be taken to safeguard the local supply chain and its reputation.
—Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 24 Oct. 2025
Since its municipal establishment in 2018, Roku City has been a metropolis intermittently besieged by mythical creatures including a kraken, a big robot, and a Godzilla-like kaiju.
—Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2025
She is besieged on all sides—by her in-laws, by social workers, by untreated psychosis—and yet in possession of a terrible freedom.
—Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 8 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for besieged
Verb
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To test if this really was a White House operation, Grace and I followed one of the trucks out of the golf course, past the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, to a path that normally leads to the White House but was blockaded.—
Nancy Walecki,
The Atlantic,
25 Oct. 2025
-
Israel has blockaded the water around Gaza, preventing boats and ships from delivering humanitarian aid.—
Eric Adler,
Kansas City Star,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
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There was a real question how the impact of him being on base nine times and the accompanying leg cramps that plagued him late in extra innings would affect his stamina less than 24 hours later.—
Barry M. Bloom,
Sportico.com,
29 Oct. 2025
-
The park process, by contrast, has been plagued with high costs, lawsuits and scandals including three critical grand jury reports.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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After the company unsuccessfully petitioned the Marion County Court to force the matter into arbitration, a judge deemed the noncompete clause unenforceable under Indiana law in September.—
Heather Bushman,
IndyStar,
28 Oct. 2025
-
Ahead of that vote, Marsh had petitioned the Executive Board to support his appeal to the ZBA.—
Gayla Cawley,
Boston Herald,
26 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
In one attack in mid-September, the militants attacked a convoy of more than 100 fuel trucks, setting fire to half of them, according to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), which maps conflicts.—
Tim Lister,
CNN Money,
2 Nov. 2025
-
Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, who has trailed Spanberger for most of the race, has attacked Spanberger over Democrats' positions on the government shutdown and focused on trans issues, which helped Republicans win the governor's mansion in 2021.—
Benjamin Siegel,
ABC News,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Wars and insurrections have afflicted other parts of the Middle East, but Baghdad—a city whose name was once synonymous with suicide bombings and sectarian murder—has been spared.—
Robert F. Worth,
The Atlantic,
28 Oct. 2025
-
The Lakers were down LeBron James, afflicted by nerve pain.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In a post on the Medina, Ohio News and Street Talk page on Facebook, the mom begged for help.—
Abigail Adams,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
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Extreme and specific in its intent, the 458 Speciale begged the question as to whether most drivers could avail themselves of its capabilities.—
Robert Ross,
Robb Report,
28 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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The apology came after a sustained campaign by historians and activists who argued that the victims were persecuted for being poor, vulnerable, or simply different.—
James Frater,
CNN Money,
31 Oct. 2025
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Its depictions of dancing devils and witches’ sabbaths are supposed to scare viewers straight, but writer-director Benjamin Christensen is also sympathetic towards the plight of medieval women persecuted for witchcraft.—
Katie Rife,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Besieged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/besieged. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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