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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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
Through the first-person narration of his protagonist, Nicholas, a teenager suddenly besieged by anxiety, Clune conveys with uncanny vividness what a panic attack feels like.
—
Scott Stossel, The Atlantic, 9 Sep. 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
The National Rally took the lead in the first round of parliamentary votes but was besieged by scandal among its candidates, including a woman who appeared in a photo wearing a World War II-era Nazi officer cap.
—Laura Kelly, The Hill, 21 Feb. 2025
So people are now facing the choice between staying in the camp to die from hunger, or risk their lives by moving through Darfur areas besieged by the RSF, Suliman said.
—Gabe Joselow, NBC News, 11 Feb. 2025
Scott Stossel, The Atlantic, 9 Sep. 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
The National Rally took the lead in the first round of parliamentary votes but was besieged by scandal among its candidates, including a woman who appeared in a photo wearing a World War II-era Nazi officer cap.
—Laura Kelly, The Hill, 21 Feb. 2025
So people are now facing the choice between staying in the camp to die from hunger, or risk their lives by moving through Darfur areas besieged by the RSF, Suliman said.
—Gabe Joselow, NBC News, 11 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for besieged
Verb
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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
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The education ministry said around 100 schools were disrupted and 27 fully blockaded.—
Saskya Vandoorne,
CNN Money,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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When governance meets Goliath For more than a decade, Biglari Holdings and Biglari himself have been plagued by accusations of mismanagement due to ballooning executive pay, stock volatility, and a licensing deal that potentially advantages Biglari personally.—
Lily Mae Lazarus,
Fortune,
18 Sep. 2025
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While economic uncertainty has plagued boardrooms this year, some businesses are not putting plans on hold.—
Rachel Barber,
USA Today,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In 2021, at the height of the pandemic, Kennedy petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to revoke authorization of COVID-19 vaccines and refrain from approving any future COVID-19 vaccines.—
Beth Mole,
ArsTechnica,
12 Sep. 2025
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In 2012, the Barnetts petitioned Marion County Probate Court to legally change Natalia's age from 8 to 22, changing her birth year from 2003 to 1989.—
Lynsey Eidell,
PEOPLE,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In what was billed as the biggest game in the history of this border feud, Indiana attacked from the first quarter and the Illini failed to respond.—
Scott Dochterman,
New York Times,
21 Sep. 2025
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The choice to shine a light on journalism, particularly of the local variety, is especially poignant during a moment when the Fourth Estate is being diminished by macroeconomic forces and even attacked by political ones.—
Emily Zemler,
Rolling Stone,
21 Sep. 2025
Verb
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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
-
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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Look out for a potential travel show at Dropout, for which his fans have begged for months.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
15 Sep. 2025
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My legs were gooey and useless, my arms burned, my lungs begged for oxygen.—
Martin Suarez,
Rolling Stone,
13 Sep. 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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In Nazi Germany, transgender people were persecuted, barred from public life.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
17 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
“Besieged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/besieged. Accessed 22 Sep. 2025.
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