embattled

adjective

em·​bat·​tled im-ˈba-tᵊld How to pronounce embattled (audio)
1
a
: ready to fight : prepared to give battle
here once the embattled farmers stoodR. W. Emerson
b
: engaged in battle, conflict, or controversy
an embattled official accused of extortion
2
a
: being a site of battle, conflict, or controversy
the embattled capital
b
: characterized by conflict or controversy
an embattled presidency

Examples of embattled in a Sentence

the embattled coach of a losing team
Recent Examples on the Web Presiding over the circus is Paulson in the role of Toni Lafayette, an embattled and embittered matriarch committed to defending her father’s good name. Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2024 By Saturday, as Washington drove down the field with ease, USC’s embattled defense had clearly hit rock bottom. Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2023 The Biden administration rushed out two senior officials over the weekend to the Armenian capital, Yerevan, to offer comfort to Armenia’s embattled prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan. Andrew Higgins, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2023 On Wednesday afternoon, the embattled CEO of Twitter and Tesla tweeted a meme that featured the beloved cartoon character Scooby-Doo. Byben Weiss, Fortune Crypto, 19 July 2023 But no embattled comedian has embraced Threads with the same gusto as Dane Cook, an A-lister of the mid-aughts who sold out arenas and went double platinum with his 2005 live album Retaliation. Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 8 July 2023 The embattled and already controversial series received a standard five-minute standing ovation at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, and at press time has a score of 25% on Rotten Tomatoes. Kyle Denis, Billboard, 31 May 2023 In doing so, top Republicans tried to sidestep the controversy by touting their work to target the very crime that prosecutors say the embattled congressman committed. Tony Romm, Anchorage Daily News, 11 May 2023 Arsema Thomas is exquisite as an embattled and trapped young Lady Danbury; some scenes showcasing her married life are tough to watch. Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 4 May 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'embattled.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of embattled was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near embattled

Cite this Entry

“Embattled.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/embattled. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

embattled

adjective
: engaged in battle or conflict

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