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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example 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 If that occurs, the Fed could be hard-pressed to continue its rate-cutting push. Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 3 Jan. 2025 Even if the main factors behind a further acceleration in year-on-year inflation are base effects, the Fed would be hard-pressed to cut interest rates in that environment. Jason Schenker, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024 This did, unfortunately, mean that Google was hard-pressed to provide a definitive answer without knowing the sending domain or seeing any example email messages. Davey Winder, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024 Kansas City has been hard-pressed to find a second receiver that can match Hopkins, and that might be the case now. James Brizuela, Newsweek, 13 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for hard-pressed 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard-pressed
Adjective
  • Instead, the dog lies on the ground with a perplexed facial expression as the small, autonomous device that cleans floors by vacuuming goes over his paw and beside him.
    Kristen Waggoner, Newsweek, 21 Jan. 2025
  • The film is a fish-out-of-water caper, as two exotic art weirdos attempt to charm ranchers and perplexed local officials.
    Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Now, a development that once baffled educators and administrators is ready to go mainstream.
    Lexi Lonas Cochran, The Hill, 31 Dec. 2024
  • Other stories explore similar themes in equally bizarre situations: In 1880s London, a very suave Joseph Merrick, aka The Elephant Man, flirts shamelessly with the smitten wife of his very baffled doctor (Goldsberry and Kind, respectively).
    Greg Evans, Deadline, 22 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • Anyone else is likely to emerge unharmed, if a little bewildered that these good-looking but skin-deep figures merited feature treatment.
    Dennis Harvey, Variety, 22 Jan. 2025
  • Unleashed upon an unsuspecting public in 1977, Eraserhead initially left crowds confused and bewildered.
    David Fear, Rolling Stone, 16 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • According to the poster, the woman's family members appeared indifferent or embarrassed by the spectacle.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 30 Jan. 2025
  • Most had never even heard of most of them and didn't seem at all embarrassed by that (despite the look of astonishment on their instructor's face).
    Bradley Gitz, arkansasonline.com, 27 Jan. 2025

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 6 Feb. 2025.

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