1
as in blockading
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 plaguing
to cause persistent suffering to
a family besieged by worries about the faltering economy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in petitioning
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
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 besieging
And while politicians know that there are costs to besieging an independent central bank – financial markets may react negatively or inflation may flare up – short-term control of a powerful policy tool can prove irresistible.
—
Ana Carolina Garriga, The Conversation, 26 Aug. 2025
Also great for very, very expensively besieging castles.
—Evan Ackermanerico Guizzo, IEEE Spectrum, 29 Jan. 2016
Ana Carolina Garriga, The Conversation, 26 Aug. 2025
Also great for very, very expensively besieging castles.
—Evan Ackermanerico Guizzo, IEEE Spectrum, 29 Jan. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for besieging
Verb
-
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
Verb
-
Or why this situation remains indicative of bigger issues plaguing our country, then and now?—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
6 Sep. 2025
-
While the problems plaguing humanity — from political strife to poverty to natural disasters — might seem overwhelming, Dorantes said the property’s history illustrates how much the world can actually change.—
Angie Leventis Lourgos,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
With that and five other Florida Bar cases over her head, Hufnagel cut the professional rope, petitioning for disciplinary revocation.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
2 Sep. 2025
-
Hundreds of postdoctoral scholars and research associates at Northwestern University voted to unionize this week, nearly two months after petitioning school officials.—
Kate Armanini,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
At least four young men are seen attacking the boy at various points.—
Drake Bentley,
jsonline.com,
3 Sep. 2025
-
When combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors – the breakthrough immunotherapy that prevents the immune system from attacking healthy cells – the T cells' tumor-fighting capacity was further enhanced.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
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
-
Americans live shorter lives than their European equivalents, McClatchy News reported in April, but the trend of stagnant life expectancy appears to be afflicting European nations the same, according to the study.—
Irene Wright,
Miami Herald,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
As summer winds down and your strands have endured heatwaves, pool days, and sweaty workouts, your curls might be begging for a break.—
Larry Stansbury,
Essence,
4 Sep. 2025
-
If anything, people were begging me to stop.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
No other spacecraft has probed beneath the clouds encircling Jupiter the way that Juno has, or has imaged our Solar System’s largest planet so comprehensively and over such extended periods of time.—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Nonetheless, its economy has largely adapted to Western sanctions, and Russian forces are advancing in the Donbas, now encircling the city of Pokrovsk and steadily advancing toward Kostyantynivka.—
Joshua Yaffa,
New Yorker,
22 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
For 25 years, Chavism has co-opted Venezuela's infrastructure for its own enrichment, persecuting journalists and opposition, wrecking the economy, and leaving its citizens in poverty.—
Kristina Foltz,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Sep. 2025
-
In July, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for two of the Taliban’s top leaders, accusing them of persecuting women and girls in Afghanistan, which the group dismissed.—
Astha Rajvanshi,
NBC news,
5 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Besieging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/besieging. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share