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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of beleaguered¹

beleaguer ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

What most generously believed was a blip, based on the compelling evidence of Slot's first title-winning campaign last season, is now a full-blown crisis for Liverpool and their beleaguered head coach.

Read more on BBC

The beleaguered housing market is gaining some momentum heading into the end of the year, with home sales rising for a second straight month.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Small-cap stocks have lagged behind their larger counterparts for more than 20 years, leaving beleaguered small-cap investors to wonder if smaller stocks will finally start to outperform the large-caps.

Read more on MarketWatch

Shares in the beleaguered U.K. advertising company are being lifted by some vague bid speculation arising from weekend reports, Interactive Investor’s Richard Hunter says.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Berkshire left its positions unchanged in Amazon.com and UnitedHealth, the beleaguered health insurer.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• ringed