hard put

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Without the label you’d be hard put to know he’d painted them.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 24, 2026

"People come up to me now at conventions and say 'you can do this as a job?' I'm like 'just try really hard, put your artwork out there and it can happen'."

From BBC • Apr. 29, 2023

Graham and Goold aren’t comfortable with intimacy, and this is just one of the ways in which their show is modern: one is hard put to find young playwrights who talk about love.

From The New Yorker • Apr. 29, 2019

Ms. Hall shows off her mom’s handiwork proudly, but would be hard put to remember when she last wore it.

From New York Times • Mar. 24, 2017

Lancelot saw these things as clearly as the bold Guenever —and, as their relations gradually worsened, he was hard put to it to keep his mind.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White