hard-pressed

adjective

ˈhärd-ˈprest 

: hard put

They were hard-pressed to prove any of their claims.

also : being under financial strain

a financially hard-pressed school system

Synonyms of hard-pressed

• perplexed
• baffled
• bewildered
• embarrassed

Examples of hard-pressed in a Sentence

they will be hard-pressed to come up with any facts that actually support their argument

Recent Examples on the Web

Despite the prediction, inflation at the macroeconomic level will be hard-pressed to derail the ascendent tech sector, which is currently undergoing a huge acyclical boom due to AI and the massive amounts of capital that are pouring in to fund it. —Tobias Burns, CNBC, 22 May 2026

Bounty hunters facing off, nearly invincible against normal bad guys, but hard-pressed in an even match. —Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026

Value for money has been next to nil and even an eternal optimist would be hard-pressed to visualise a redemption arc. —Phil Hay, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2026

Commuters would be hard-pressed to miss the large structures already taking shape west of McDermott Road, which will one day carry traffic from highway to highway without stopping. —Rose Evans, Idaho Statesman, 24 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1707, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for hard-pressed

• acquiesced
• coalesced
• dispossessed
• manifest
• overdressed
• overstressed
• prepossessed
• reassessed
• reinvest
• repossessed
• unaddressed
• uncompressed