besieges

verb

present tense third-person singular of besiege
1
as in encircles
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

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in persecutes
to cause persistent suffering to a family besieged by worries about the faltering economy

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in begs
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for besieges
  1. encircles
  2. persecutes
  3. begs
  4. attacks
  5. plagues
  6. petitions
  7. blockades
  8. afflicts
Verb
  • The paint color that encircles the wallpaper is important, but Chloe Redmond Warner says the bread should be the least exciting part of this sandwich.
    — Kelsey Mulvey, Vogue, 6 Aug. 2026
  • The butterfly encircles Larsson's eye, with its wings spanning the whole area from her inner brow to well past its tip.
    — Kara Nesvig, Allure, 6 July 2026
Definition of encircles
Verb
  • China, which jails human rights activists in Hong Kong, persecutes Uyghurs, has killed hundreds of thousands of Tibetans and has committed genocide against the Falun Gong, is on the UN Human Rights Council.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 18 Feb. 2026
  • In Russia, the civilian repressive apparatus persecutes the military, which leaps at every chance for revenge.
    — Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Definition of persecutes
Verb
  • The warm waffle can be filled with matcha, strawberry soft serve or a swirl of both, then dressed up Pocky sticks for a dessert that practically begs for a photo before the first bite.
    — Brittany Anas, Denver Post, 11 Aug. 2026
  • That's because when the stakes are high, and the actors begin to cry, the serious tone begs to be subverted by a humorous caption.
    — Owen Carry, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of begs
Verb
  • Meanwhile, donning night-vision giggles, Knoxville gleefully attacks them with trash can lids and tasers.
    — Tim Grierson, Vulture, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Yellow-legged hornets, an invasive species that attacks honeybee colonies, have been spotted in North Carolina for the first time.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of attacks
Verb
  • Too often, this means taxpayer dollars are fueling the very gun violence that plagues neighborhoods and communities nationwide.
    — Kris Brown, Chicago Tribune, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Odd moment plagues fourth quarter As the Knicks held on to their fairly sizable lead, a fan ran onto the court, tried to take a selfie with Wembanyama but was quickly apprehended by security.
    — Jacob Lev, CNN Money, 4 June 2026
Definition of plagues
Verb
  • However, if someone petitions the court, a judge could order the HOA into a receivership.
    — Kelly G. Richardson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 July 2026
  • The film hands off its plot like a baton, passing from this dissatisfied shopper to a factory owner to her dead daughter-in-law (another ghost) who petitions the government for her civil rights despite being in the body of an appliance.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2026
Definition of petitions
Verb
  • There's no question that the United States has a credible threat of force, but the blockade really blockades ourselves as well as Iran.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 26 Apr. 2026
  • As the United States military blockades the Strait of Hormuz fuel prices rose above $100 dollars a barrel.
    — Contessa Brewer,Dawn Giel, CNBC, 23 Apr. 2026
Definition of blockades
Verb
  • That means protections for those who have been vaccinated will weaken and wane as the disease afflicts those who haven’t, threatening public health as a whole.
    — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Advertisement Mission hijacking in the nonprofit space A similar overcrowding afflicts the pro-democracy space today.
    — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 28 June 2026
Definition of afflicts
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.

Browse Nearby Words

besiegers
besieges
besieging
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Besieges.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/besieges. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on besieges

Nglish: Translation of besieges for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of vacuous

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All