besieging

verb

Definition of besiegingnext
present participle of besiege
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

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for besieging
  1. attacking
  2. afflicting
  3. begging
  4. encircling
  5. assaulting
Verb
  • Some of the Israeli fans added to the tensions, Holla said, by attacking a taxi Wednesday as well as a Palestinian flag.
    Corky Siemaszko, NBC News, 8 Nov. 2024
  • The new boss quickly set about completely overhauling the team and their approach, instilling an aggressive, attacking mindset which had been sorely lacking in previous seasons.
    Adam Digby, Forbes, 21 Oct. 2024
Definition of attacking
Verb
  • Whatever's afflicting you out there, in here the coffee is always hot, the fries are always crispy and the ranch dip is always free.
    Tyler Buchanan, Axios, 18 Oct. 2024
  • Something is genuinely off about the goings-on at the conference, from strange deaths and elevators that suddenly aren’t elevators, to a rash of scabby infections afflicting guests and the discovery of a subterranean tunnel.
    Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2024
Definition of afflicting
Verb
  • Broth ends the video with an emotional plea begging his fans for their help.
    Ash Parrish, The Verge, 18 Oct. 2024
  • This is a begging-the-question fallacy disproved all the time by great popular geniuses like Shakespeare, Mozart, Toni Morrison, Lorca himself.
    Lauren Groff, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2024
Definition of begging
Verb
  • When Engelbert announced the news while on speaker, Clark’s Fever teammates yelled and jumped with joy while encircling the team’s star.
    David Close, CNN, 3 Oct. 2024
  • Entering into the Trans-Pacific Partnership makes less sense when justified by vague references to encircling China.
    Timothy Meyer, Foreign Affairs, 26 June 2018
Definition of encircling
Verb
  • In the second case in less than a week of Combs assaulting a minor, the more than half a dozen new civil cases from three woman and four men are seeking unspecified damages.
    Dominic Patten, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2024
  • In 2019, Brady Mistic, who is also deaf, was charged with resisting arrest and assaulting police officers in Idaho Springs, Colorado.
    Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 18 Oct. 2024
Definition of assaulting
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near besieging

besieges

besieging

besmear

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Besieging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/besieging. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on besieging

Nglish: Translation of besieging for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of besieging for Arabic 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!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

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

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

9 Superb Owl Words

15 Words That Used to Mean Something Different
See All

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 Word Game 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?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
little chihuahua dressing like a turkey for thanksgiving
Is That Gratitude or Attitude? A Thanksgiving Quiz Decide which words express gratitude and which gi...