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Definition of beset verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

beset

verb
 
/bɪˈset/
 
/bɪˈset/
[usually passive] (formal)
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they beset
 
/bɪˈset/
 
/bɪˈset/
he / she / it besets
 
/bɪˈsets/
 
/bɪˈsets/
past simple beset
 
/bɪˈset/
 
/bɪˈset/
past participle beset
 
/bɪˈset/
 
/bɪˈset/
-ing form besetting
 
/bɪˈsetɪŋ/
 
/bɪˈsetɪŋ/
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  1. to affect somebody/something in an unpleasant or harmful way
    • The team was beset by injury all season.
    • It's one of the most difficult problems besetting our modern way of life.
    • a life beset with financial worries
    Oxford Collocations DictionaryBeset is used with these nouns as the subject:
    • problem
    See full entry
    Word OriginOld English besettan, from be- ‘about’ + settan of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zetten, German setzen.
See beset in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
ripple effect
noun
 
 
From the Topic
Change, cause and effect
C2
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