Meanings
present singular third person beleaguers · participle present beleaguering · participle past beleaguered · past beleaguered · alternative beleagure
- To besiege; to surround with troops.
I have read in some old marvellous tale, / Some legend strange and vague, / That a midnight host of spectres pale / Beleaguered the walls of Prague. // Beside the Moldau's rushing stream, / With the wan moon overhead, / There stood, as in an awful dream, / The army of the dead.
1838 October, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “The Beleaguered City”, in Voices of the Night, Cambridge, Mass.: […] John Owen, published 1839, →OCLC, stanzas 1–2, page 22Synonyms: beset, belay, encircle, invest, lay siege to
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo vex, harass, or beset.
verbTo exhaust.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Low Germanbelēgeren
- Dutchbelegeren
- Englishbeleaguer
Borrowed from Dutch belegeren and/or Middle Low German belēgeren; equivalent to be- + lair. Compare also German belagern, Danish belejre. The English spelling was perhaps influenced by unrelated league.
More words from Dutch, Middle Low German
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian обсаждам
- обсаждам (obsaždam)to besiege; to surround with troops
Chinese Mandarin 圍攻 /围攻, 包圍 /包围
- 圍攻 /围攻 (wéigōng)to besiege; to surround with troops
- 包圍 /包围 (bāowéi)to besiege; to surround with troops
- 糾纏 /纠缠 (jiūchán)to vex, harass, or beset
- 騷擾 /骚扰 (sāorǎo)to vex, harass, or beset
Czech obléhat, oblehnout
- obléhatto besiege; to surround with troops
- oblehnoutto besiege; to surround with troops
- obtěžovatto vex, harass, or beset
Danish belejre
- belejreto besiege; to surround with troops
Dutch belegeren, belagen
- belegerento besiege; to surround with troops
- belagento vex, harass, or beset
Finnish piirittää, kiusata
- piirittääto besiege; to surround with troops
- kiusatato vex, harass, or beset
French investir, assiéger
- investirto besiege; to surround with troops
- assiégerto besiege; to surround with troops
German belagern, umzingeln
- belagernto besiege; to surround with troops
- umzingelnto besiege; to surround with troops
- bedrängento vex, harass, or beset
- belästigento vex, harass, or beset
- störento vex, harass, or beset
Polish oblegać, oblec
- oblegaćto besiege; to surround with troops
- oblecto besiege; to surround with troops
- obsadzaćto besiege; to surround with troops
- obsadzićto besiege; to surround with troops
- obstępowaćto besiege; to surround with troops
- obstąpićto besiege; to surround with troops
- nękaćto vex, harass, or beset
Portuguese sitiar
- sitiarto besiege; to surround with troops
Romanian împresura, încercui
- împresurato besiege; to surround with troops
- încercuito besiege; to surround with troops
- asediato besiege; to surround with troops
- înconjurato besiege; to surround with troops
- necăjito vex, harass, or beset
- iritato vex, harass, or beset
- supărato vex, harass, or beset
- sâcâito vex, harass, or beset
Russian осажда́ть, окружа́ть
- осажда́ть (osaždátʹ)to besiege; to surround with troops
- окружа́ть (okružátʹ)to besiege; to surround with troops
- беспоко́ить (bespokóitʹ)to vex, harass, or beset
- осажда́ть (osaždátʹ)to vex, harass, or beset
Spanish sitiar, asediar
- sitiarto besiege; to surround with troops
- asediarto besiege; to surround with troops
- cercarto besiege; to surround with troops
- hostigarto vex, harass, or beset
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with beleaguer
All rhymes →Cite this entry
beleaguer. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beleaguer
“beleaguer.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beleaguer. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “beleaguer,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beleaguer.
Source: beleaguer on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.