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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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
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
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
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
airmail.news, 28 Dec. 2024
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
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard put
Adjective
-
The scientific community, equally perplexed, largely ignored the paper for more than a decade.—
Siddhartha Mukherjee,
New Yorker,
16 June 2025
-
The trade stunned the sport, perplexed rival executives and devastated Bostonians.—
Andy McCullough,
New York Times,
18 June 2025
Adjective
-
What baffled doctors, however, was that the bone was not lodged in her throat but buried in the muscle tissue of her neck.—
Joe Cermele,
Outdoor Life,
3 July 2025
-
Fans, of course, remain baffled and angry and depressed over the lack of any visible progress on Martin’s sixth A Song Of Ice And Fire novel, The Winds Of Winter.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
3 June 2025
Adjective
-
Pastor Richard Reynolds told parents not be embarrassed asking for help from the community.—
Matthew Cupelli,
IndyStar,
5 July 2025
-
Sailor's owner, Abigail Crouch, 24, was left feeling rather embarrassed when her adorable vigilante had to be carried out of the building by the doorman, Eric.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 July 2025
Adjective
-
There were also problems connecting to the internet and to phone networks, leaving many bewildered and unable to obtain information.—
Catherine Porter,
New York Times,
29 Apr. 2025
-
Tornado is a bewildered Japanese girl (played by pop singer Kôki) who fights off a horde of white men, thieving gold vagabonds who represent both Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Celtic ancestry.—
Armond White,
National Review,
4 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hard put.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard%20put. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.
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