bewilder

verb

be·​wil·​der bi-ˈwil-dər 

bē-

bewildered; bewildering bi-ˈwil-d(ə-)riŋ 

bē-

transitive verb

1

: to cause to lose one's bearings (see bearing sense 6c)

bewildered by the city's maze of roads

2

: to perplex or confuse especially by a complexity, variety, or multitude of objects or considerations

His decision bewildered her.

utterly bewildered by the instructions

bewilderedly adverb

bewilderedness noun

Synonyms

• addle
• baffle
• bamboozle
• beat
• befog
• befuddle
• bemuse
• buffalo
• confound
• confuse
• discombobulate
• disorient
• flummox
• fox
• fuddle
• get
• gravel
• maze
• muddle
• muddy
• mystify
• perplex
• pose
• puzzle
• vex

Choose the Right Synonym for bewilder

puzzle, perplex, bewilder, distract, nonplus, confound, dumbfound mean to baffle and disturb mentally.

puzzle implies existence of a problem difficult to solve.

the persistent fever puzzled the doctor

perplex adds a suggestion of worry and uncertainty especially about making a necessary decision.

a behavior that perplexed her friends

bewilder stresses a confusion of mind that hampers clear and decisive thinking.

a bewildering number of possibilities

distract implies agitation or uncertainty induced by conflicting preoccupations or interests.

distracted by personal problems

nonplus implies a bafflement that makes orderly planning or deciding impossible.

the remark left us utterly nonplussed

confound implies temporary mental paralysis caused by astonishment or profound abasement.

the tragic news confounded us all

dumbfound suggests intense but momentary confounding; often the idea of astonishment is so stressed that it becomes a near synonym of astound.

was at first too dumbfounded to reply

Examples of bewilder in a Sentence

the change in policy seems to have bewildered many of our customers

Recent Examples on the Web

There is a frequent invocation of the Jews by right-wing Asian commentators, with conservatives from both groups bewildered by the liberal tendencies of their demographic as a whole. —Yiyun Li, Harper's Magazine, 23 Oct. 2024

The Mayor of Rome was at first bewildered, and then ended up laughing about the Macron Doctrine regarding Emily Cooper’s destiny. —Alan Friedman, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Oct. 2024

Leduc portrays him as a sort of French Oscar Wilde, a man both bewildered and fascinated by women, who filled her with terror because of ‘the gentleness in his eyes’. —Hazlitt, 2 Oct. 2024

That’s the skepticism implied by the exploitation titles Chalice of Blood and Curse of Forgiveness that represent Snyder’s going full bore into adolescent subcultural extremes — ultimately bewildered about the meaning of life. —Armond White, National Review, 9 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1633, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

bewilder

verb

be·​wil·​der bi-ˈwil-dər 

bewildered; bewildering -d(ə-)riŋ 

: to confuse especially with a great many things to worry about

bewilderingly

-d(ə-)riŋ-lē 

adverb

bewilderment

-dər-mənt

noun