embattled
/ɪmˈbatld
/adjective
1(Of a place or people) involved in or prepared for war, especially because surrounded by enemy forces: the embattled northern province...
- A tenuous peace deal between the American occupation forces and the embattled city of Falluja got off to a slow and sometimes chaotic start on Tuesday.
- We now learn that the unit will go through the embattled city after all.
- Rebellion after rebellion had to be put down and the embattled dynasty was forced to rely increasingly on Chinese militia as the standard of the purely Manchu units had declined dramatically.
1.1(Of a person) beset by problems or difficulties: the worst may not be over for the embattled Chancellor...
- South African officials said on Sunday they had made no offer of asylum to Haiti's embattled leader, despite reports that President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was headed here after fleeing his country.
- No wonder the embattled president felt able to declare icily that in the future: ‘I shall be a little more prudent, particularly in the choice of those people who work directly with me.’
- John Swinney, the embattled leader of the SNP, was last night facing a new crisis of credibility after two of his own MSPs suggested he should step aside because of his failure to make the party relevant to ordinary voters.
2(Of a building or part of a building) having battlements: the church has a low embattled tower
2.1 [postpositive] Heraldry Divided or edged by a line of square notches like battlements in outline.