as in perplexed
faced with difficulty or uncertainty about what to say, think, or do
they will be hard-pressed to come up with any facts that actually support their argument
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Recent Examples of hard-pressed
Damat Anyone visiting Turkey would be hard-pressed not to get exposed to Damat.
—
Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 30 Jan. 2026
An adult earning barely $30,000 a year behind a fast-food counter will be hard-pressed to support a family, Holder said.
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 27 Jan. 2026
If Washington State, Oregon State, Fresno State and Texas State continue to wallow, the Pac-12 will be hard-pressed to match, much less overtake, the Big East.
—Jon Wilner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Jan. 2026
Even the least superstitious among us would be hard-pressed to deny that an abnormal amount of terrible things have happened to the Kennedy family.
—Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 20 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hard-pressed
Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 30 Jan. 2026
An adult earning barely $30,000 a year behind a fast-food counter will be hard-pressed to support a family, Holder said.
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 27 Jan. 2026
If Washington State, Oregon State, Fresno State and Texas State continue to wallow, the Pac-12 will be hard-pressed to match, much less overtake, the Big East.
—Jon Wilner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Jan. 2026
Even the least superstitious among us would be hard-pressed to deny that an abnormal amount of terrible things have happened to the Kennedy family.
—Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 20 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hard-pressed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard-pressed
Adjective
-
Travelers who happen by the small town of Ida Grove, Iowa, about 100 miles north of Omaha, might be intrigued (and a little perplexed) by the castle-like structures that sprang from the vision of Byron Godbersen, founder of Midwest Industries.—
Jacqueline Kehoe,
Midwest Living,
22 Apr. 2026
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Even Ohtani seemed perplexed by the break on McLean’s sweeper.—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
One outcome — perhaps, a five-point plan While Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and others are actively pursuing diplomacy, Iran and Israel are not interested, and the United States appears baffled and unsteady.—
Daniel Kurtzer,
New York Daily News,
5 Apr. 2026
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One of the best examples of that is phantom limb pain, which for a long time baffled people.—
Margaret Cirino,
NPR,
4 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Connie is bewildered but happy about this.—
Alice Burton,
Vulture,
20 Apr. 2026
-
This sometimes left audience members bewildered about what had actually happened.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
6 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Howard provides the cops with a box of Nancy’s belongings, which an embarrassed Mary admits to stealing, with it later being revealed that Mary and Howard used to role-play as Nancy and her husband Robert (Joel Kinnaman).—
Arushi Jacob,
Variety,
22 Apr. 2026
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The band felt embarrassed wearing those lame outfits.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hard-pressed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard-pressed. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
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