Thesaurus.com
Dictionary.com

up against it

ADJECTIVE
desperate
Synonyms
STRONGEST
despondent forlorn futile sad vain
STRONG
downcast goner
WEAK
at end of one's rope back to the wall can't win dead duck despairing desponding gone hard up in the soup in the toilet inconsolable irrecoverable irremediable irretrievable no chance no-win running out of time sunk up the creek useless wretched
Antonyms
STRONGEST
cheerful happy hopeful joyful
WEAK
calm confident content contented satisfactory satisfied secure unworried

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.

See Examples For:

West Ham were always up against it going in Sunday's final game against Leeds in which they needed to win and hope Everton won at Tottenham if they were to stay up.

From BBC ● May 24, 2026

Adora is up against it with those lessons.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026

It’s also difficult to gauge how many of Iran’s 93 million people despise the government enough to rise up against it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2026

"We were up against it but we're here to fight and that's what we did."

From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2026

It would flirt and coo and risk curling back up against it.

From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word
Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember new words for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com