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
Still, the alliance may offer new ideas for the nation’s biggest backers of TV news, who have been hard-pressed to win ad dollars for such programing in recent years.
—
Brian Steinberg, Variety, 10 Nov. 2025
Scientists, for their part, were hard-pressed to pinpoint the cause of the disaster.
—Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
If this were to happen, Congress would be hard-pressed to write a new statute that creates pre-termination hearings or otherwise seeks to limit the power of the president that would satisfy the court’s aggressive support for presidential removals.
—James B. Speta, Twin Cities, 16 Sep. 2025
Despite their numbers, Wolverines fans will be hard-pressed to top Ohio State fans’ takeover of Wrigleyville last year.
—Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hard-pressed
Brian Steinberg, Variety, 10 Nov. 2025
Scientists, for their part, were hard-pressed to pinpoint the cause of the disaster.
—Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
If this were to happen, Congress would be hard-pressed to write a new statute that creates pre-termination hearings or otherwise seeks to limit the power of the president that would satisfy the court’s aggressive support for presidential removals.
—James B. Speta, Twin Cities, 16 Sep. 2025
Despite their numbers, Wolverines fans will be hard-pressed to top Ohio State fans’ takeover of Wrigleyville last year.
—Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hard-pressed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard-pressed
Adjective
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Those late audits have caused ongoing comments by engaged residents who are perplexed that year after year the town’s government is not able to provide the same audit the state’s other 168 municipalities complete and submit to the public and the state’s budget office.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
10 Jan. 2026
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Pittman seemed perplexed as to what caused the seemingly uninspired performance.—
Erick Taylor,
Arkansas Online,
31 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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Why cells grow to just the right size has long baffled scientists.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Dec. 2025
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Looking aghast, Kylie couldn’t help but go silent with a baffled expression for several seconds.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The movie took liberties, but White's fight for Stuart to be a mouse-like boy is an important part of his history, even if some are bewildered by it.—
Angela Andaloro,
PEOPLE,
13 Dec. 2025
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Uma is bewildered at this new world, while Gopal can’t so much as look at her.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
1 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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Watching the comments together, Sadie initially felt embarrassed by the caption noting she’s never made a basket.—
Jordan Greene,
PEOPLE,
9 Jan. 2026
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The ugly Team defense is a misnomer The following statistic should leave the Ducks thoroughly embarrassed.—
Eric Stephens,
New York Times,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hard-pressed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard-pressed. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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