beleaguer

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /bɪˈliɡɚ/ UK /bɪˈliːɡə/ See IPA manual

verb

Meanings

1

verb
to surround with troops; to beset with difficulties or harassment

Reporters beleaguered the senator with questions about the scandal.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to surround with troops; to... besiege beset harass surround plague hound badger

Opposites

relieve free liberate

Word family

Derived forms beleagueredbeleagueringbeleaguerment

Related forms leaguer

Etymology

From Dutch belegeren ('to besiege'), from be- ('around') + leger ('camp, army'), cognate with English lair and German Lager.

belegeren Dutch leger Dutch

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

# beleaguer

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** bɪˈliɡɚ
**IPA (UK):** bɪˈliːɡə

## Meanings
1. to surround with troops; to beset with difficulties or harassment

## Examples
- Reporters beleaguered the senator with questions about the scandal.

## Synonyms
- besiege
- beset
- harass
- surround
- plague
- hound
- badger

## Antonyms
- relieve
- free
- liberate

## Derived Forms
- beleaguered
- beleaguering
- beleaguerment

## Related Forms
- leaguer

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: belegeren
- Root: leger

## Etymology
From Dutch belegeren ('to besiege'), from be- ('around') + leger ('camp, army'), cognate with English lair and German Lager.

## AI Etymology
Beleaguer is from Dutch belegeren ('to besiege'), from be- ('around') + leger ('camp, army'), cognate with English lair and German Lager. In present-day use, it means to surround with troops; to beset with difficulties or harassment. Derived formations include beleaguered, beleaguering, and beleaguerment. Related vocabulary includes leaguer.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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beleaguer

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