EN

Synonyms for beleaguer

  • verb

Most common

attack beset pester besiege bound compass blockade encompass

Synonyms by meaning

Verb

1. Besiege — to vex, harass, or beset

besiege, attack, beset, pester, harry, bug, plague, tease, badger, harass, toss, chevy, bedevil, bait, annoy, hound, persecute, molest, bullyrag, vex dated

2. Invest — to besiege; to surround with troops

invest, encircle, belay

3. Surround

surround, hem in, circumvent

4. Wear down — to exhaust

wear down, do for slang

Other

bound, compass, blockade, encompass, forset, enclose, environ dated

Definitions

  1. v. 1

    To besiege; to surround with troops.

  2. v. 2

    To vex, harass, or beset.

  3. v. 3

    To exhaust.

Related words

Other spellings
beleagure

Forms

Past participle
beleaguered
e.g. beleaguered → besieged, attacked, pestered, harried…

Choose the right word

Beleaguer or Besiege?

To besiege and beleaguer are the acts of armies.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

  • attack The fortress was secure from every kind of attack.
  • beset The company is still beset by technical challenges.
  • pester We will pester him with heaps of questions.
  • bound The plane we boarded was bound for San Francisco.
  • compass By night, polar bears use stars as their compass.

Popularity over time

Word1850 → 2019Trend
beleaguersteady
attacksteady
besetfalling
pesterrising
besiegerising
boundsteady

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters
bug1, vex1
4 letters
toss1, bait1
5 letters
harry2, bound1, tease1, chevy2, annoy2, hound1, beset2, belay
6 letters
attack2, invest2, plague1, badger2, harass2, molest2, pester2, forset
7 letters
compass2, enclose2, besiege2, environ, bedevil3
8 letters
surround2, blockade2, encircle3, bullyrag
9 letters
encompass3, persecute3
10 letters
circumvent3

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (harry2 = 2 syllables).