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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Examples 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-pressed Paramount may find itself hard-pressed to go without Nielsen for long. Brian Steinberg, Variety, 1 Oct. 2024 Inflation-weary shoppers have only just started to see prices moderate and would be hard-pressed to absorb another round of increases. Zev Fima, CNBC, 8 Sep. 2024 Written by Will Staples, with McG aboard to direct, Way of the Warrior Kid follows a self-doubting boy (Hill) who gets bullied and is hard-pressed to complete a single pull-up. Matt Grobar, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2024 And while there are plenty of grays that can fit that temperature bill, there’s also a sense of self-expression that millennial gray would be hard-pressed to achieve. Patricia Shannon, Better Homes & Gardens, 12 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for hard-pressed 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard-pressed
Adjective
  • And Cartwright indulges in a few moments of the kind of perplexed introspection that Slow Horses rarely pauses to provide.
    Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2024
  • What started as a simple discussion has only grown more convoluted, leaving everyone more perplexed than ever.
    Bill Bruno, Forbes, 9 Oct. 2024
Adjective
  • Censoring Ulysses In reviewing the UK Home Office files on James Joyce's Ulysses, a historian found baffled officials afraid to bring more attention to it.
    JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024
  • Perhaps this played better at home, but in the room, there was a baffled silence, barring pockets of laughter for the contributions from Stanley Tucci and Dame Judi Dench.
    Radhika Seth, Vogue, 20 Feb. 2024
Adjective
  • In this day and age, where 4K is normal, even HD is considered blurry; however, the decision to shoot with the prosumer camcorder at a resolution of 480 on to MiniDV paid off, and Murphy’s bewildered walk through Westminster is still genuinely iconic.
    Carlton Reid, WIRED, 19 Sep. 2024
  • There this brilliant but bewildered scientist gets cornered by a plutocrat with impertinent questions.
    Alan Scherstuhl, Scientific American, 15 Oct. 2024
Adjective
  • The Chicago Bears, one week after a brutal Hail Mary loss to the Washington Commanders, were embarrassed by the Arizona Cardinals (5-4) in a 29-9 defeat.
    Elizabeth Both, NBC News, 4 Nov. 2024
  • Phan said in addition to feeling embarrassed by all of the applause, Wudtke was shocked.
    Stephanie Gallman Jordan, Southern Living, 4 Nov. 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near hard-pressed

Cite this Entry

“Hard-pressed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard-pressed. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

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