embattled

[em-bat-ld]

adjective

1. disposed or prepared for battle.

2. engaged in or beset by conflict or struggle.

embattled

/ ɪmˈbætəld /

adjective

1. prepared for or engaged in conflict, controversy, or battle

2. heraldry having an indented edge resembling battlements

Other Word Forms

• unembattled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of embattled¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; embattle ¹, -ed ²; embattled def. 2 probably by association with the general sense “restrict, enclose” of many verbs formed with em- ¹, en- ¹

Example Sentences

Regulators in Puerto Rico said late Friday they had tentatively approved a contract with the embattled liquefied natural gas supplier, which has faced questions about its ballooning debt.

Read more on Barron's

Once — say, 20 or 30 years ago — those blow-ups might have been enough to chase each of those embattled candidates from their respective races, and maybe even end their political careers altogether.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Germany will urge the European Union to scrap a planned 2035 ban on the sale of combustion engine cars, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Friday, as Berlin battles to boost its embattled car industry.

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Tossing a lifeline to embattled President Javier Milei before Argentina’s midterm election in October looked like the financial equivalent of a Hail Mary football pass.

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Cracker Barrel shareholders voted to retain the company’s embattled chief executive after a calamitous rebranding campaign, but chose to dump one of the chain’s board members.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal