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hard-pressed

or hard·pressed

[ hahrd-prest ]

/ ˈhɑrdˈprɛst /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR hard-pressed ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

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

Origin of hard-pressed

First recorded in 1815–25

SYNONYMS FOR hard-pressed

assailed, plagued, beset, bedeviled, beleaguered.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR hard-pressed ON THESAURUS.COM

Words nearby hard-pressed

hard-mouthed, hard-nose, hard-nosed, hard-of-hearing, hard-on, hard-pressed, hard-put, hard-rock, hard-sell, hard-set, hard-shell

Example sentences from the Web for hard-pressed

I am not the most financially literate person (I would be hard-pressed to articulate the term “junk bond”).

Can Self-Help Books Really Make a New You? |Lizzie Crocker |December 29, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
One would be hard-pressed to find an earlier opponent of the Nazis than Dietrich von Hildebrand.

The Catholic Philosopher Who Took on Hitler |John Henry Crosby |December 26, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
It was a cutthroat move from investors, hard-pressed to turn a profit on a film that was a domestic disappointment.

David Vs. Goliath in the Age of Video on Demand |Teo Bugbee |September 25, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
And often they demand logistical services from the hard-pressed Saudi embassy, which stretches the term “diplomatic.”

The Paris Job: Inside the Epic $335,000 Saudi Stick-Up |Christopher Dickey |August 18, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

And even a pretty savvy lawyer would be hard-pressed to identify more than two or three of the judges.

Law-Breaking Judges Took Cases That Could Make Them Even Richer |Reity O’Brien, Kytja Weir, Chris Young, Center for Public Integrity |April 28, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Later in the story Moray is hard-pressed by the villain for those same papers.

The Art Of The Moving Picture |Vachel Lindsay
A lad, nursed back to life, rejoins the hard-pressed Southern troops and is killed in the first battle.

Story Hour Readings: Seventh Year |E.C. Hartwell
Far worse than the alienation of their estates was the selling of their children by the hard-pressed creditors.

Expositor's Bible: Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther |Walter Adeney
That was our hard-pressed country's method of paying its debts.

The Story of Commodore John Barry |Martin Griffin
On this the ultimate safety of the hard-pressed garrison depended.

The Missing Ship |W. H. G. Kingston

British Dictionary definitions for hard-pressed

hard-pressed

adjective

in difficulties the swimmer was hard-pressed

subject to severe competition

subject to severe attack

closely pursued