1. closely pursued: "the hard-pressed French infantry"Similarunder attackclosely pursuedhotly pursuedharriedhounded
2. burdened with urgent business: "training centers are hard-pressed and insufficient in numbers"Similarin difficultiesunder pressureunder stresstroubledbeleagueredharassedwith one's back to the wallwith one's back up against the wallin a tight cornerin a tight spotbetween a rock and a hard placebusyoverburdenedoverworkedoverloadedovertaxedrushed off one's feettime-poorat the end of one's ropeinformal:pushedup against itunder the coshOppositeuntroubled
▪ in difficulties:"creating jobs in the hard-pressed construction industry"
