beleaguer

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 13, 2021 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>beleaguer</strong> &#149; \bih-LEE-gur\&nbsp; &#149; <em>verb</em><br /> <p><em>Beleaguer</em> means "to trouble or harass."</p> <p>// The coach, <em>beleaguered</em> by the media and fans for his poor decision-making during games, has been fired.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beleaguer">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"Pharmacists, some of whom already are financially <em>beleaguered</em>, say they can't afford an additional, unexpected hit that takes away as much as 50% of their annual profit." — Darrel Rowland, <em>The Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal</em>, 31 Oct. 2021</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p><em>Beleaguer</em> comes from the Dutch word <em>belegeren</em>. <em>Leger</em> means "camp" and the prefix <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/be-#h5">be-</a></em>means "about" or "around." <em>Belegeren</em>, by definition, is a neutral verb ("to camp around"); however, <em>beleaguer</em> implies trouble. It is also synonymous with <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/besiege">besiege</a></em>.</p> <br /><br /> </p> </font>