bewilder

verb

be·​wil·​der bi-ˈwil-dər How to pronounce bewilder (audio)
bē-
bewildered; bewildering bi-ˈwil-d(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce bewilder (audio)
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
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
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
She remains moved by a frank conversation with a boat captain in Copenhagen who was bewildered about people in the US having registries for honeymoons and also births. Rosie Bell, WIRED, 22 Sep. 2024 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 See all Example Sentences for bewilder 

Word History

First Known Use

1633, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of bewilder was in 1633

Dictionary Entries Near bewilder

Cite this Entry

“Bewilder.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bewilder. Accessed 13 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

bewilder

verb
be·​wil·​der bi-ˈwil-dər How to pronounce bewilder (audio)
bewildered; bewildering -d(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce bewilder (audio)
: to confuse especially with a great many things to worry about
bewilderingly adverb
bewilderment
-dər-mənt
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on bewilder

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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