Verb (used with object), : to be beset by enemies; beset by difficulties. ,a village beset on all sides by dense forest. ,a gold bracelet beset with jewels. From Dictionary.com.
This sort of contempt for eminences, or rather dread of the labor of ascending them, might have been termed the besetting weakness of the warfare of the period. From Wordnik.com. [The Last of the Mohicans A Narrative of 1757] Reference
As in the case of every well-defined philosophy, this motive is always attended by a "besetting" problem. From Wordnik.com. [The Approach to Philosophy] Reference
Different besetting temptations in England and the North 136. From Wordnik.com. [Epic and Romance Essays on Medieval Literature] Reference
The besetting temptation of the free lance is to pamper himself. From Wordnik.com. [If You Don't Write Fiction] Reference
Clearly, the troubles besetting Schroder and his government run deep. From Wordnik.com. [WE ARE THE PEOPLE] Reference
But I understand your feeling, one has the sense of a besetting menace. From Wordnik.com. [A Mating in the Wilds] Reference
Cleverly though they manipulate, cleanliness is not their besetting weakness. From Wordnik.com. [Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce] Reference
Another besetting danger to the books of our libraries arises from insects and vermin. From Wordnik.com. [A Book for All Readers An Aid to the Collection, Use, and Preservation of Books and the Formation of Public and Private Libraries] Reference
On account of the dangers besetting this course, underwriters refuse to insure vessels taking it. From Wordnik.com. [Wealth of the World's Waste Places and Oceania] Reference
The besetting illusion of the New Deal and the New Frontier was that every problem had a solution. From Wordnik.com. [Memo To The 1993 Crowd: Believe In Yourselves] Reference
Although I had much more power over besetting sins, yet there were times of great darkness and defeat. From Wordnik.com. [How I Know God Answers Prayer The Personal Testimony of One Life-Time] Reference
Turning down leaves in a book to keep the place is one of the easily besetting sins of too many readers. From Wordnik.com. [A Book for All Readers An Aid to the Collection, Use, and Preservation of Books and the Formation of Public and Private Libraries] Reference
This keeping secrets that are no secrets, the besetting weakness of novelists, was once quite affecting. From Wordnik.com. [The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 05, No. 30, April, 1860] Reference
This easily besetting habit weakens the book, and frequently soils its leaves by contact with a dusty table. From Wordnik.com. [A Book for All Readers An Aid to the Collection, Use, and Preservation of Books and the Formation of Public and Private Libraries] Reference
He spoke bitterly and enviously, exhibiting in his whole tone as well as in his words his besetting weakness. From Wordnik.com. [The Continental Monthly, Vol. 5, No. 5, May, 1864 Devoted To Literature And National Policy] Reference
Thompson seemed to be saying that the suicidal maniacs besetting us are among us — are among the 12 million. From Wordnik.com. [Of Tulips and Fred Thompson] Reference
Twelve years apparently was a long time to expect an inspiration to burn in the face of besetting temptations. From Wordnik.com. [Every Man for Himself] Reference
He is comparatively free from that drunkenness which is the besetting vice of the low-class Englishman in Africa. From Wordnik.com. [South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 1 (of 6) From the Foundation of Cape Colony to the Boer Ultimatum of 9th Oct. 1899] Reference
But it is in the ballad of Virginia that his besetting tendency towards declamation becomes most thoroughly apparent. From Wordnik.com. [Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 61, No. 379, May, 1847] Reference
An attempt was made to bring pressure to bear on parliament by a mob of reformadoes or disbanded soldiers besetting the. From Wordnik.com. [London and the Kingdom - Volume II] Reference
Instead, it's the pass-the-buck system, where no one is willing to take responsibility for the tragic neglect besetting the people. From Wordnik.com. [Fern Siegel: Stage Door: The Grapes of Wrath, Pablo Aslan] Reference
Thus did Washington become one of the first to encounter the besetting plague of American mass production: the problem of distribution. From Wordnik.com. [The Bounty of the Chesapeake Fishing in Colonial Virginia] Reference
Such questions obtained no permanent place in his thoughts: they were only the passing expression of an ever-besetting mental restlessness. From Wordnik.com. [Australian Writers] Reference
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