as in perplexed
faced with difficulty or uncertainty about what to say, think, or do
she was hard put to explain her department's excessive expenditures
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Recent Examples of hard put
Arendt, who was accused of smuggling anti-Semitic literature out of the library to expose Hitler’s intentions to the West, defends her innocence with such intellectual rigor, conviction, and charm that the audience, like the interrogator, is hard put to decipher the truth.
—
airmail.news, 28 Dec. 2024
Many Americans, while understanding that Washington was essential to the success of the revolution in his role as commanding general, would be hard put to explain why he is so highly ranked as president.
—Sara Georgini, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Aug. 2024
From Brazil to Germany, companies are hard put to crew up, such is the demand by series and movies.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 10 May 2023
But with an evenly split Senate, and Democrats hard put to get to the 60-vote threshold needed to prevent Republicans from blocking their bills, Ms. Sinema – together with Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia – has come under particular fire for her refusal to scrap the filibuster.
—Stephanie Hanes, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Aug. 2021
This item, which has more in common with a tabletop decoration than a functioning reticule, would be hard put to accommodate a hairbrush; a cellphone would dwarf it.
—Lynn Yaeger, Town & Country, 22 Jan. 2023
Japan itself, with a stagnant economy and the highest debt-to-GDP ratio in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, will be hard put to sustain the necessary military buildup.
—Walter Russell Mead, WSJ, 28 Nov. 2022
But this is a tale of two women, and you’d be hard put to nominate one of them as the obvious heroine, or to say who is sweating under the greater stress.
—The New Yorker, 25 Feb. 2022
One is hard put, though, to find anyone singling out Lincoln as a racist fiend either before his murder or for decades thereafter.
—Sean Wilentz, The New York Review of Books, 13 Apr. 2021
airmail.news, 28 Dec. 2024
Many Americans, while understanding that Washington was essential to the success of the revolution in his role as commanding general, would be hard put to explain why he is so highly ranked as president.
—Sara Georgini, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Aug. 2024
From Brazil to Germany, companies are hard put to crew up, such is the demand by series and movies.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 10 May 2023
But with an evenly split Senate, and Democrats hard put to get to the 60-vote threshold needed to prevent Republicans from blocking their bills, Ms. Sinema – together with Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia – has come under particular fire for her refusal to scrap the filibuster.
—Stephanie Hanes, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Aug. 2021
This item, which has more in common with a tabletop decoration than a functioning reticule, would be hard put to accommodate a hairbrush; a cellphone would dwarf it.
—Lynn Yaeger, Town & Country, 22 Jan. 2023
Japan itself, with a stagnant economy and the highest debt-to-GDP ratio in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, will be hard put to sustain the necessary military buildup.
—Walter Russell Mead, WSJ, 28 Nov. 2022
But this is a tale of two women, and you’d be hard put to nominate one of them as the obvious heroine, or to say who is sweating under the greater stress.
—The New Yorker, 25 Feb. 2022
One is hard put, though, to find anyone singling out Lincoln as a racist fiend either before his murder or for decades thereafter.
—Sean Wilentz, The New York Review of Books, 13 Apr. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard put
Adjective
-
Jacob Bernstein joins us to discuss the story that has riveted—and perplexed—Hollywood.—
Air Mail,
Air Mail,
29 Mar. 2025
-
Despite this return, her limited appearances on WWE television, consisting of only two matches, have left fans perplexed and curious about her current status.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
21 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Chasing perfection this offseason required Webb to tweak the pitch that, ironically, most baffled hitters.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
26 Mar. 2025
-
Surrounding the headliners are grumpy arena security, who spend the night wearing baffled expressions watching a sea of adults cheer and laugh and applaud over imaginary characters engaged in battles no one can actually see, and rolls of acrylic dice just 16 millimeters in size.—
Eric Francisco,
Rolling Stone,
1 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
President Ronald Regan and First Lady Nancy had just launched an aggressive anti-drugs campaign, and Major League Baseball was embarrassed by a trial in late 1985 that revealed significant cocaine use on and off the field by players.—
Laurence Miedema,
Mercury News,
1 Apr. 2025
-
Sometimes, political leadership requires uncommon courage, especially when faced with annoyed and embarrassed constituents, caught and fined for driving recklessly.—
John Seng,
Baltimore Sun,
1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
But the on-again, off-again nature of the process has resulted in a bewildered industry that has adopted a wait and see approach to investment decisions and supply chain alterations.—
Jerrold Lundquist,
Forbes.com,
30 Mar. 2025
-
Old Trafford was where distraught, bewildered fans felt physically compelled to go to express their grief.—
Michael Walker,
The Athletic,
15 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hard put.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard%20put. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
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