beleaguered

[ bih-lee-gerd ]

adjective

1. surrounded by military forces; besieged:

   The beleaguered city of Limerick, having stood to the last, finally capitulated to the forces of William of Orange.

2. beset, surrounded, or overburdened by troubles:

   Restoring our beleaguered oceans to health will require an emphasis on diversification and conservation, and more sensible fishing practices.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of beleaguer ( def ).

Word History and Origins

Origin of beleaguered¹

beleaguer ( def ) + -ed ²( def )

Example Sentences

The buttoned-up, pantsuit-wearing former oncologist is not a repeat of the eager “Goldbergs” matriarch, but the character maintains the actor’s knack for playing beleaguered exhaustion for comedic effect.

From Los Angeles Times

The political fallout from the Scottish government's beleaguered bottle return scheme has been considerable, but the legal fallout could be equally as significant.

From BBC

But resistance will be harder to sustain, in part because everyone is already so tired of fighting all of this, and also because the action is going to be coming so fast and furious on all fronts that bewildered and beleaguered groups on the left will hardly know where to make a stand or even start.

From Slate

He played the former president as a beleaguered road dog who has gone delirious from being trapped on an endless campaign.

From Salon

For an already beleaguered Ukraine, the development is yet another flashing danger sign.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• ringed