* Formal: The company was beset by financial difficulties, forcing them to lay off staff.
* Figurative: The hikers were beset by doubts as the trail grew steeper and the weather turned stormy.
* Active Voice: The ancient city was beset by a plague that decimated its population.
* Passive Voice: The crumbling castle was beset by legends of a hidden treasure.
* Idiomatic: The new government was beset by problems from the start.
Beset often implies a state of being overwhelmed or troubled by something. It can be used to describe both physical and metaphorical challenges.