beset

CEFRC1

/bɪˈsɛt/

verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    annoy continually or chronically.

  2. 02

    verb

    Extra detail

    Senses relating to surrounding.

Examples

  • The company is still beset by technical challenges.

  • Young people fled cities beset by terrorism, the economic crisis and drugs.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /bi-/

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To assail or attack (someone) from all sides; to set about.

  2. To occupy and block (an entrance, a passage, etc.), especially to prevent people from passing.

  3. To decorate (someone or something) by surrounding with accessories, etc.

More examples

In context

  • The problem was beset with difficulties.

  • Track and platforms have been upgraded, but refurbished trains from Vivarail have been beset by software problems.

  • For thou, deere Lord, thou me besett'st; / Thy rodd and thy staff be / To comfort me: […]

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The small village was blank by constant storms and flooding last winter.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

From Middle English besetten, bisetten (“to besiege, blockade; to fill, occupy; to harass, beset; to allot, bestow; to arrange, manage; to place, set; to provide for; to treat in a certain way”), from Old English besettan, bisettan (“to surround, beset; to set near; etc.”), from Proto-West Germanic *bisattjan, from Proto-Germanic *bisatjaną (“to fill, occupy”), from *bi- (prefix meaning ‘at; by’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi (“at; near; on”)) + *satjaną (“to place down, set”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sed- (“to sit”)). By surface analysis, be- (prefix meaning ‘around; by, close to, near, next to’) + set. cognates * Danish besætte (“to occupy; obsess”) * Dutch beze...