PRESSED Synonyms: 251 Similar and Opposite Words

pressed 1 of 3

adjective

as in squeezed

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

pressed

2 of 3

verb (1)

past tense of press

as in seized

to take or make use of under a guise of authority but without actual right the fleeing bank robber pressed a nearby taxi into service as a getaway car

Synonyms & Similar Words

pressed

3 of 3

verb (2)

past tense of press

as in shoved

to push steadily against with some force an old doorbell that requires you to press the button hard

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in crushed

to apply external pressure on so as to force out the juice or contents of my family will only drink juice from freshly pressed oranges

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in huddled

to gather into a closely packed group everyone pressed around me to see the pictures

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in pushed

to force one's way we continued to press deeper and deeper into the tangled rain forest

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in compelled

to cause (a person) to give in to pressure a manager pressed by a business crisis to return from his vacation ahead of schedule

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in urged

to try to persuade (someone) through earnest appeals to follow a course of action pressed us to go with them to the school board meeting

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in emphasized

to indicate the importance of by centering attention on an office e-mail that presses the need for greater vigilance concerning building security

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of pressed

Adjective

Lys Beauty has launched its Triple Fix pressed powder in Sincere, a new pink shade of which 100 percent of net proceeds during the month of October will be donated to The Pink Agenda, which supports breast cancer research and care. — Noor Lobad, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026 Although the restaurant downstairs might be the main attraction, those looking for an intimate, lavish escape are hard-pressed to find anything more decadent than The Witchery's nine suites. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Oct. 2026 Looking at the metrics, Orvis was hard-pressed to find a silver lining. — ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026 American consumers who couldn’t afford to buy a home when rates were in the fours will be hard-pressed to buy in the sevens today. — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 2 Oct. 2026 As heads of their respective agencies, Vought and Bhattacharya presumably have other duties and would be hard-pressed to give each proposal a serious evaluation. — John Timmer, ArsTechnica, 21 Sep. 2026 By design, college football fans will be hard-pressed to avoid the ACC this weekend. — Ken Sugiura, AJC.com, 3 Sep. 2026 More to the point, another 7% gain would boost the league’s average delivery to a hair shy of 20 million viewers per game, which is a summit that even the mighty NFL would be hard pressed to reach. — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 19 Aug. 2026 How to factor vesting into career decisions You’d be hard-pressed to find a financial planner who’d advise against contributing enough to your plan to get a match — regardless of the vesting schedule. — Ryan Ermey, CNBC, 11 Aug. 2026

Verb

Ossoff last year also pressed Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin for canceling public health and environmental grants. — Maydeen Merino, The Washington Examiner, 15 Oct. 2026 Kevin also pressed political leaders to take up the cause, arguing that defending female athletics bridges partisan divides. — Alejandro Avila Outkick, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026 Washington has pressed Zelenskyy to curb attacks on energy facilities, linking them to the rising price of US fuel in the run-up to midterm elections, where Republicans are expected to fare poorly. — Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 15 Oct. 2026 By the time the panic ended, 152 people had been formally accused, 19 had been hanged, and one man, Giles Corey, had been pressed to death with stones for refusing to stand trial. — Jennifer Byrne, Popular Science, 15 Oct. 2026 But a few layers of water molecules pressed against a water-repellent surface lose some of those partners. — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 15 Oct. 2026 No guarantee of lesson learned Other Americans pressed further. — Maurizio Valsania, The Conversation, 14 Oct. 2026 But Raman’s answers never meandered and weren’t too elliptical, even when she was pressed by the able moderators. — Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026 Arguments about Mexican wolf Tallman also pressed Boyles and other environmental lawyers on the court’s role in second-guessing the agency’s expertise and decision-making. — Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 14 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pressed

Adjective

Meanwhile, Burgess’ young niece Zoey (Aimee Laurence) suffers a crushed liver in the explosion and desperately needs a transplant.

— Will Harris, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Oct. 2026
But once assembly was complete the pit was very sturdy, and my wife and I were easily able to carry it between my porch and a crushed-stone section of my backyard that usually holds a firepit, trying it in both places.

— Noah Kaufman, Architectural Digest, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of crushed

Verb

The latest conflict between the Saudis and the Houthis began last month after the rebels seized key areas along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a critical waterway for oil shipments.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026
Another Renoir, a Cézanne and a Matisse were taken from the Magnani Rocca Foundation near Parma, Italy, in March (and also later recovered), while four Renaissance paintings by Antonello da Messina were seized from a Sicilian museum in August.

— Lianne Kolirin, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of seized

Verb

The banquet hall was total chaos, packed with people who shoved their way toward the front, trying to bribe the hostess for a table with red envelopes.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026
Although some Alabama fans reacted to the loss and officiating by throwing water bottles on the field, one spectator came down from his seat and got in the face of and shoved Georgia linebacker Raylen Wilson.

— Connor Riley, AJC.com, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of shoved

Verb

In Malabo, Bioko’s biggest city, a team of men and women equipped with insecticide sprayers squeezed between low-rise cement buildings on a recent morning, as heavy rain drummed on aluminum roofs.

— ABC News, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026
Elevated borrowing rates and refinancing challenges (registration required) have squeezed an already difficult landscape for development financing.

— Jill Jones, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of squeezed

Verb

Her mother, Betsy Lopez, spoke to CBS News Sacramento in June and said she was compelled to advocate for safer streets after her daughter's death.

— Madisen Keavy, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026
To read even a downmarket newspaper, especially one from the mid-twentieth century before newspapers were compelled to compete with TV, is often to be surprised at the serious-mindedness of its journalism.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of compelled

Browse Nearby Words

press

pressed

pressed (for)

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Pressed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pressed. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of pressed

adjective

verb (1)

verb (2)

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

compunction

Popular in Grammar & Usage

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Popular

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

Games & Quizzes