besieged

[ bih-seejd ]

adjective

1. (of a fortified place) under siege; surrounded by enemy forces and cut off from help or supplies:

   The security forces downplayed the situation, claiming that local authorities were still in full control of the besieged city.

2. surrounded by crowds:

   He was charged with inciting to "mass disturbance" the more than 1,000 people who congregated close to the besieged police station.

3. assailed or inundated with requests or demands:

   Apart from the hero, every man in this movie is a rustic bigot, and every woman a besieged housewife.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of besiege.

Other Words From

• un·be·sieged adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of besieged¹

First recorded in 1425–75; besiege ( def ) + -ed ²( def ) for the adjective senses; besiege ( def ) + -ed ¹( def ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

A letter sent to the Israeli government demanded the country end the isolation of the besieged north, where aid groups warn that civilians are being starved amid Israel’s military offensive.

From BBC

In Beit Hanoun, which was besieged for more than a month, Ms Msuya said food and water reached shelters Monday only for Israeli soldiers to forcibly displace people from those areas Tuesday.

From BBC

State Department spokesman Vedant Patel cited the opening of a new land crossing, and deliveries resuming in the north - although he did not say any had entered the besieged Jabalia refugee camp.

From BBC

"The followers must feel besieged," he wrote.

From Salon

Before Al-Shifa Hospital was besieged and attacked, for example, “the IDF produced this very flamboyant imagery of the command and control center underneath the hospital,” Sidoti said, “which they alleged form the basis of the justification of the attack. Yet none of the footage produced after the event indicated anything like that kind of command and control center underneath the hospital.”

From Salon

Related Words

• assailed
• attacked
• beleaguered
• blockaded
• surrounded