Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To muddle or stupefy, as with alcoholic liquor or infatuation.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To infatuate; make a dotard of.
  • To stupefy; affect with mental or moral stupidity or blindness.
  • To make sottish, as with drink; make a sot of.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To make sottish; to make dull or stupid; to stupefy; to infatuate.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To muddle, stupefy, or act foolishly; as with alcoholic liquor or infatuation.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb make dull or stupid or muddle with drunkenness or infatuation

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[be– + sot, to stupefy (from sot, fool; see sot) or from assot, to befool (from Old French assoter, from sot, foolish).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From be- +‎ sot. Compare to Middle English assoten, assotten ("to act foolishly; fall madly in love, become infatuated").

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Examples

  • The first known use of "besot" is found in a poem by George Turberville, published in 1567.

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day 2009

  • Would have been completely lost on me, but happened to be in Australia a few years ago when the whole country was besot with their superstar bowler (Sean Ware?) and they were playing the Ashes.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » Iceland Jokes 2010

  • Would have been completely lost on me, but happened to be in Australia a few years ago when the whole country was besot with their superstar bowler (Sean Ware?) and they were playing the Ashes.neurodoc(Quote)

    The Volokh Conspiracy » Iceland Jokes 2010

  • They twin his ability to draw huge crowds, to capture the global imagination, to besot Sarkozy with a man swoon (more profound than a man crush), and allegedly to disable the media's skepticism the way scientists can knock out a gene.

    Adam Hanft: From Swiftboating to Doppelganging -- A Glimpse into McCain's Deep Brain Political Strategy 2008

  • He tried to see me again an 'again, an' wrote me letters an 'besot me in every way, knowin' as I wasn't worthy of you, an 'didn't love you as I ought.

    Smethurstses 1995

  • Rose, unassuming, not even pretty, certainly tiresomely obtuse about some things, had wished him goodbye in a matter-of - fact manner which should have left him in no doubt as to her feelings, but her eyes, her lovely gentle eyes, mused Mr. Werdmer ter Sane besot - tedly, had betrayed her.

    A Girl Named Rose Neels, Betty 1986

  • When the intelligence becomes powerless to command and to say what and when and how the affections shall disport themselves, then man becomes a slave to his heart and is led like an ass by the nose hither and thither; and when nature thus runs unrestrained and wild, it makes for the mudholes of lust wherein to wallow and besot itself.

    Explanation of Catholic Morals A Concise, Reasoned, and Popular Exposition of Catholic Morals

  • In many ways it besot him like orphic sound to a musician, or the tenebrisms of artists (Carvaggios like himself); but nonetheless he continued to project blame at the bearded anathema beneath him, and he still glanced down periodically at the floor hoping to find the putative agents of the odor, evidence to bolster his bilious conclusions, being in full denial of himself.

    An Apostate: Nawin of Thais

  • Oh, he had no right thus to besot himself with adoration!

    Chivalry James Branch Cabell 1918

  • Oh, he had no right thus to besot himself with adoration!

    Chivalry James Branch Cabell 1918

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