beset
[bih-set]
- to attack on all sides; assail; harass: to be beset by enemies; beset by difficulties.
- to surround; hem in: a village beset on all sides by dense forest.
- to set or place upon; bestud: a gold bracelet beset with jewels.
- Nautical. to surround (a vessel) by ice, so that control of the helm is lost.
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Origin of beset
Synonyms
See more synonyms for beset on Thesaurus.com2. encircle, enclose, besiege, beleaguer. 3. stud, decorate, ornament.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for beset
Contemporary Examples
I suspect that the new Tarzan will run into the same problems that beset the recent Lone Ranger remake.
We may be beset by deep political divisions, but the moderate, outward-looking center is large; not a fringe section of society.
Stringer depicts a country that is beset by complications of both past imperialism and current globalism.
India, for example, is still very poor and beset by many ethnic and religious divides, yet has a thriving democracy.
In her speech, Rice mentioned Iraq once, as a “fragile democracy” beset by “internal strife and hostile neighbors.”
Historical Examples
They are putty in the hands of the fears and forces that beset them from without.
The Conquest of FearBasil King
Touring it through the Causses seemed, indeed, beset with difficulties.
The Roof of FranceMatilda Betham-Edwards
He was beset on either side by the merciless fangs of his erstwhile comrades.
White FangJack London
Such was his own experience that he was beset by the gravest doubts.
The Law-BreakersRidgwell Cullum
I have been so hunted and beset by this man, that I knew my only hope of safety lay in joining them.
Barnaby RudgeCharles Dickens
beset
- (esp of dangers, temptations, or difficulties) to trouble or harass constantly
- to surround or attack from all sides
- archaic to cover with, esp with jewels
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for beset
v.
Old English besettan "to put, place; own, keep; occupy, settle; cover, surround with, besiege," from Proto-Germanic *bisatjan (cf. Old Saxon bisettjan, Dutch bezetten, Old High German bisezzan, German besetzen, Gothic bisatjan); see be- + set (v.). The figurative sense also was in Old English. Related: Beset (past tense); besetting.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper