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
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
Without trade and movement between Iran and Iraq, however, Tehran will be hard put to get some of its non-oil industries fully functional again.
—Falih Hassan, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2020
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
Without trade and movement between Iran and Iraq, however, Tehran will be hard put to get some of its non-oil industries fully functional again.
—Falih Hassan, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard put
Adjective
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That left Ferentz to answer for McNamara’s situation on Tuesday, and the head coach seemed perplexed by how to describe it.Scott Dochterman, The Athletic, 23 Nov. 2024
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At an Omaha Beach event honoring the 80th Anniversary of the D-Day invasion, Dr. Jill Biden quickly escorts Joe Biden away leaving a seemingly perplexed French President Emmanuel Macron to honor WW2 veterans alone.Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu and Sara Swann, Austin American-Statesman, 8 June 2024
Adjective
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The most interesting aspect that came out of that time with him — besides a green light to make the movie — was that Bob also was a little baffled about the events that went down in the course of our movie.Seth Abramovitch, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Dec. 2024
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Murphy made the remark during an interview with WNYC as the public and lawmakers remain baffled over the source of the large drones.Greg Norman, Fox News, 12 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Don’t be embarrassed to get outside help or an agency to do the initial content work for you.Martin Zwilling, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024
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Their emotional vocabulary will expand over time to incorporate more complex feelings such as frustrated, confused, embarrassed, and disappointed.Kelsey Mora, Contributor, CNBC, 17 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The clip received more than 3,900 shares and 4.1 million views on X. In the footage a young girl dressed in pink walks along the chilled aisle of a superstore, throwing products as bewildered customers look on.Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2024
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In May, police officers in the town of Lufkin, Texas responded to a bewildered call about a pair of kangaroos that were on the loose.Christine Rousselle, Fox News, 19 Oct. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near hard put
Cite this Entry
“Hard put.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard%20put. Accessed 24 Dec. 2024.
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