beleaguer means to besiege; to surround with troops. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 71 out of 100.
beleaguer is pronounced /bɪˈliː.ɡə/.
Why “beleaguer” is a great word
BELEAGUER — [Verb] To besiege, harass, or beset, as with troubles or military forces. From Dutch belegeren or Middle Low German belēgeren, from be- (around, about) + leger (camp, lair), literally 'to camp around'. Unlike besiege, which strictly denotes a military blockade, or harass, which implies scattered and often petty vexation, beleaguer carries the suffocating weight of comprehensive encirclement. It is the dwindling firewood in a snowbound cabin, the patient tightening of creditors' demands, and the weary garrison watching enemy watch-fires wink into life on the darkening plain—a state where the horizon fills entirely with the campfires of one's assailants.
verb
- 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.”
- To vex, harass, or beset.
- To exhaust.