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
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Billie looks perplexed, but clearly Joe is working on Irene somehow, as Irene is hanging on his every word.—
Jordan Hoffman,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Apr. 2026
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Reporters at the press conference, perplexed, asked Trump about the gap.—
David A. Graham,
The Atlantic,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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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
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This sometimes left audience members bewildered about what had actually happened.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
6 Apr. 2026
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The passenger in the back eventually looked up from her phone, noticed Louise, and locked eyes with this bewildered-looking woman blocking the crosswalk.—
Catherine Lacey,
New Yorker,
5 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Fearful and self-preserving silence, nervous and embarrassed avoidance, and even willful erasure kept stories like these in the dark.—
Chad S.A. Gibbs,
The Conversation,
9 Apr. 2026
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Brian Hecker, as the would-be beau, has little to do other than proffer an embarrassed smile.—
Gina Friedlande,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hard-pressed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard-pressed. Accessed 14 Apr. 2026.
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