hard put

hard put

adjective

Definition of HARD PUT

faced with difficulty or uncertainty about what to say, think, or do <she was hard put to explain her department's excessive expenditures>

Synonyms baffled, confounded, hard-pressed, nonplussed (also nonplused), perplexed

Related Words bewildered, confused, disconcerted, fazed; embarrassed, flustered, put out

Phrases at a loss, put to it

Near Antonyms undaunted, unfazed; composed, untroubled