hard put

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

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hard put Arendt, who was accused of smuggling anti-Semitic literature out of the library to expose Hitler’s intentions to the West, defends her innocence with such intellectual rigor, conviction, and charm that the audience, like the interrogator, is hard put to decipher the truth. airmail.news, 28 Dec. 2024 Many Americans, while understanding that Washington was essential to the success of the revolution in his role as commanding general, would be hard put to explain why he is so highly ranked as president. Sara Georgini, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Aug. 2024 From Brazil to Germany, companies are hard put to crew up, such is the demand by series and movies. John Hopewell, Variety, 10 May 2023 This item, which has more in common with a tabletop decoration than a functioning reticule, would be hard put to accommodate a hairbrush; a cellphone would dwarf it. Lynn Yaeger, Town & Country, 22 Jan. 2023 Japan itself, with a stagnant economy and the highest debt-to-GDP ratio in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, will be hard put to sustain the necessary military buildup. Walter Russell Mead, WSJ, 28 Nov. 2022 But this is a tale of two women, and you’d be hard put to nominate one of them as the obvious heroine, or to say who is sweating under the greater stress. The New Yorker, 25 Feb. 2022 But with an evenly split Senate, and Democrats hard put to get to the 60-vote threshold needed to prevent Republicans from blocking their bills, Ms. Sinema – together with Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia – has come under particular fire for her refusal to scrap the filibuster. Stephanie Hanes, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Aug. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard put
Adjective
  • Zahn is a master at non-verbal incredulity, and Coach Hudson’s perplexed patience in the face of Chad’s weirdness is never not entertaining.
    Kristen Baldwin, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Sep. 2025
  • Another surprise that has long perplexed researchers is those algorithms’ knack for their own, strange kind of creativity.
    Webb Wright, Wired News, 24 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • The notes — about 30 rows of capital letters, numbers, dashes and parentheses broken into sections — baffled investigators.
    Christina Coulter, PEOPLE, 27 Sep. 2025
  • The clear stance that the club has spent every available penny of their PSR allowance left many baffled, but the club’s accounts over the coming years will reveal all.
    Beren Cross, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Police officers guarding the barricades appeared somewhat embarrassed at having to block the path of a visiting world leader.
    Alexander Smith, NBC news, 24 Sep. 2025
  • Norvell’s predecessor, Steve Addazio, routinely embarrassed CSU at a time when the administration didn’t need any more help in that department.
    Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 24 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • William is totally bewildered and frustrated that it’s being sanctioned.
    Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 28 Sep. 2025
  • Looking at the Williams in the wrong spot, the crew looked bewildered, while one person signaled Sainz to move on.
    Saajan Jogia, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Hard put.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard%20put. Accessed 30 Sep. 2025.

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