hard-pressed

Or hard·pressed

[hahrd-prest]

adjective

1. heavily burdened or oppressed, as by overwork or financial difficulties; harried; put-upon.

   Synonyms: beleaguered

hard-pressed

adjective

1. in difficulties

   the swimmer was hard-pressed

2. subject to severe competition

3. subject to severe attack

4. closely pursued

Word History and Origins

Origin of hard-pressed¹

First recorded in 1815–25

Idioms and Phrases

Overburdened, put upon, as in With all these bills to pay we find ourselves hard pressed. [c. 1800]

Example Sentences

But they may be hard-pressed to reach terms that the protesters who took to the streets on Saturday will find acceptable.

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Alice is imprisoned by her condition, though “what exactly her condition was, she would have been hard-pressed to define.”

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Cincinnati’s defense is going to be chasing, and Jake Browning is going to be hard-pressed to keep pace with Jared Goff and that Detroit offense.

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“You may not be yearning for it, but I would be hard-pressed to point to a person that wouldn’t want to be adored by a celebrity.”

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If CBS decides to continue programming the 11:30 p.m. slot, it will be hard-pressed to approach the same audience levels that Colbert attracted.

Read more on Los Angeles Times