beset
pronunciation
How to pronounce beset in British English:
UK [bɪˈset]
How to pronounce beset in American English:
US [bɪˈset]
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- Verb:
- annoy continually or chronically
- assail or attack on all sides: "The zebra was beset by leopards"
- decorate or cover lavishly with gems
Word Origin
- beset (v.)
- Old English besettan "to put, place; own, keep; occupy, settle; cover, surround with, besiege," from Proto-Germanic *bisatjan (cognates: 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.
Antonym
Example
- 1. Theplan has been beset by a succession of difficulties .
- 2. Some are beset by squabbling heirs and succession battles .
- 3. Sleep problems also beset the elderly and the blind .
- 4. Despite the help , plenty of western farmers have been beset by poverty .
- 5. Liquidity is suffering because markets have been beset by disappointment and dysfunction .