beset
Verb
Verb Forms: beset, besetting, besets
- To trouble or threaten persistently; to surround.
- annoy continually or chronically
- assail or attack on all sides:
- "The zebra was beset by leopards"
- decorate or cover lavishly (as with gems)
- To surround or hem in.
- To attack or assail, especially from all sides.
- To decorate something with jewels etc.
- Of a ship, to get trapped by ice.
Examples
- The Scrabble board was beset with vowels, making good plays difficult.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English besetten, bisetten, from Old English besettan (“to beset; set beside; set near”), from Proto-West Germanic *bisattjan, from Proto-Germanic *bisatjaną (“to set near; set around”), equivalent to be- + set.
Cognate with Saterland Frisian besätte (“to occupy”), West Frisian besette (“to occupy”), Dutch bezetten (“to sit in; occupy; fill”), German Low German besetten (“to occupy”), German besetzen (“to seize; occupy; garrison”), Danish besætte (“to occupy; obsess”), Swedish besätta (“to fill; occupy; beset”).
Synonyms
chevvy, chevy, chivvy, chivy, encrust, harass, harry, hassle, incrust, molest, plague, provoke, set upon, badger, bait, bebay, bedazzle, bedevil, bejewel, beleaguer, beset, besiege, bespangle, bug, encircle, environ, give someone grief, hound, inbind, persecute, pester, pick at, pursue, vex
Scrabble Score: 7
beset: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordbeset: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
beset: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary