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hard-pressed

hard-pressed

33 6.0
Short of money or resources and finding things difficult
  • adjective
  • /hɑrdˈprɛst/
translation icon : con dificultades
  • If you're hard-pressed for ready cash, it won't cost you a nickel.
  • hard-pressed to find
  • hard-pressed to meet
  • hard-pressed governments

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed.

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Examples

  • Our army is hard-pressed!

  • Without it, professional humanists would be hard-pressed to explain why society should continue paying their salaries.

    Academic text (1991)
  • As a result, governments have been hard pressed even to maintain existing programs.

    Academic text (1990)
  • We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed.

  • One would be hard-pressed to find any activity with more benefits than a game of basketball.

  • Also, like other states, Kentucky has been hard-pressed to accurately identify children in need of these services.

    Academic text (1993)
  • As a result, most third-world countries were hard-pressed to meet their debt obligations and to cover their import costs.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Without this open communication, municipalities will be hard-pressed to conduct honest dealings with private property owners.

    Academic text (2001)
  • The Austrians are hard pressed along the line, and now French cavalry and Fiorella's troops threatened to cut off their retreat.

  • Many families are hard-pressed to make ends meet due to rising living costs.

Synonyms

in a bad way
vshard-pressed
17 6.0

Very sick or having serious money problems

is broader, applying to serious trouble in health or other areas not only finances
hard up
vshard-pressed
  • Informal
10 8.0

Having very little money and struggling to pay bills

is often a general difficulty that may be milder than that
poverty-stricken
vshard-pressed
9 5.1

Very poor and needing help to live

is a less extreme label for financial difficulty and may be milder
distressed
vshard-pressed
  • Specialized
9 4.1

Having serious money problems and unable to pay bills

is a general label for difficulty, not necessarily formal hardship
up against it
vshard-pressed
  • Informal
7 8.0

In a difficult situation with little time or help

is a more general state of difficulty and not always urgent pressure
destitute
vshard-pressed
3 7.0

Completely without something that is needed or wanted

is a less absolute state, covering difficulty that may not be complete lack
hard put
vshard-pressed
1 8.3

Unable to manage easily because you have little money or help

is mainly about difficulty often of a financial nature rather than general coping
in a tight squeeze
vshard-pressed
  • Informal
1 7.2

In a difficult situation with little time or money

is often a longer or ongoing difficulty rather than a short stressful moment
in straitened circumstances
vshard-pressed
  • Formal
8.6

A person who has little money and cannot buy basic things

is a broader difficulty that may not focus only on lack of money
pinched
vshard-pressed
6.5

A person who has little money to pay basic costs

is broader and covers difficulty from any lack of resources not only money
struggling
vshard-pressed
3.9

Having trouble because of not enough money, success, or recognition

is about being in difficulty rather than actively trying to overcome it

Antonyms

83 4.1

Doing well and having a lot of money

67 5.5

Having a lot of money and possessions

How Struggling

destitute
20 6.5
desperate
704 3.3
hard-pressed
33 6.0

Surface Forms

hard-pressed positive

Morphology

hard-pressed = hard + press (transparent) = hard + press + ed

Formed from 'hard' + 'press(ed)' with the straightforward sense 'pressed hard' -> 'under pressure/in difficulty', which B1 learners can infer from the components.

Etymology

Hard-pressed comes from the picture of someone pressed ('squeezed') very hard, as if under a heavy weight. So, if you are hard-pressed you are under strong pressure or in real difficulty, often 'short of money'.