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besieged

besieged

8.2
Surrounded by enemy soldiers and often under attack
  • adjective
  • /bɪˈsiːdʒd/
translation icon : asediado
  • And Leningrad was besieged by the German army for almost three years through three long winters.

It it is not true they are not allowed to enter the besieged areas.

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Examples

  • The defenders were stranded in the besieged Fort, the Governor himself having ingloriously deserted.

  • Hundreds of thousands flee, bombs explode throughout cities, towns are besieged and raised to the foundations.

  • That is how just overwhelmed and besieged we are.

  • Lin has ordered his commanders to turn the besieged city of Changchun into city of death.

  • So women took the risk to to cross these checkpoints, to bring food to their children from Damascus, and they returned back to the besieged areas.

  • And example is in the Peloponnesian War, Syracuse finds itself besieged by the Athenians.

  • Nonetheless, the dwarfs fight a determined, never ending defence of their besieged realm in the hopes of one day reclaiming Lost.

  • The city has been besieged for weeks, with supplies running low and no way to escape.

  • During the war, the besieged town had to rely on its residents to provide food and shelter.

  • Many families were trapped in the besieged area, awaiting rescue from the enemy forces.

Synonyms

blockaded
vsbesieged
7.2

Unable to enter or leave because barriers block the way, often by force

is being surrounded by hostile forces and often under attack
cornered
vsbesieged
4.5

In a place where you cannot escape and must face someone

is about being surrounded by hostile forces, often for an extended attack

Antonyms

1.0

Not likely to be harmed or in danger

318 3.2

Protected from danger or from people trying to break in

How Surrounded

besieged
8.2
encircled
3.9

Surface Forms

besieged positive

Morphology

besieged = besiege (transparent) = siege + ed

Formed as the regular past-participial/adjectival -ed on the verb 'besiege', so the adjectival meaning 'surrounded' is directly derived.

Etymology

Besieged comes from old words that meant 'to sit' around a place: the first part be- gives a sense of 'around' and the siege part comes from a root like 'sit', as in the simple word 'sit'. So, if a town is besieged, it is being 'sat around' by enemies — surrounded and under attack.