as in bewildered
suffering from mental confusion
some bedeviled motorists have complained that the road maps are more a hindrance than a help
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in plagued
to cause persistent suffering to
a lingering cold bedeviled me for over a month
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 bedeviled
Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 3 Feb. 2026
Libya’s central bank is suing Zimbabwe’s finance minister and national oil company for more than $100 million, the latest development in a spiraling debt crisis that’s bedeviled the southern African nation for a quarter of a century.
—William Clowes, Bloomberg, 28 Jan. 2026
The acrimony that bedeviled so many bands that NOFX avoided for 40 years had finally caught up with them.
—Jim Ruland, Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2026
Perhaps in Iran, which has been engulfed by mass protests, leading the president to threaten action against an oppressive regime that has bedeviled the United States for nearly half a century.
—Jonathan Lemire, The Atlantic, 13 Jan. 2026
These questions will be tough, likely impossible, to answer to everyone's satisfaction — and several have bedeviled lawmakers, and Iowans, before.
—Rachel E. Stassen-Berger, Des Moines Register, 8 Jan. 2026
Daniel Cole/Reuters Hiring slowed in November, resuming sluggish performance that has bedeviled the labor market for much of this year and elicited a series of interest rate cuts, a fresh jobs report on Tuesday showed.
—Max Zahn, ABC News, 16 Dec. 2025
The resulting statement included commitments by both sides to respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as to renounce the use of force to acquire land, something that had bedeviled their relations for decades.
—Ilan Berman, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Nov. 2025
Fraser was bedeviled by Elizabeth Hurley’s Beelzebub in Bedazzled (2000), earned career-best reviews for the Vietnam drama The Quiet American (2002), and landed a role in the Best Picture-winning Crash (2004).
—Andrew Walsh, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Nov. 2025
Verb
Mattison was excited about the possibility of helping the Dolphins solve their short-yardage shortcomings, a problem that had bedeviled them the previous two seasons.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 3 Feb. 2026
Libya’s central bank is suing Zimbabwe’s finance minister and national oil company for more than $100 million, the latest development in a spiraling debt crisis that’s bedeviled the southern African nation for a quarter of a century.
—William Clowes, Bloomberg, 28 Jan. 2026
The acrimony that bedeviled so many bands that NOFX avoided for 40 years had finally caught up with them.
—Jim Ruland, Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2026
Perhaps in Iran, which has been engulfed by mass protests, leading the president to threaten action against an oppressive regime that has bedeviled the United States for nearly half a century.
—Jonathan Lemire, The Atlantic, 13 Jan. 2026
These questions will be tough, likely impossible, to answer to everyone's satisfaction — and several have bedeviled lawmakers, and Iowans, before.
—Rachel E. Stassen-Berger, Des Moines Register, 8 Jan. 2026
Daniel Cole/Reuters Hiring slowed in November, resuming sluggish performance that has bedeviled the labor market for much of this year and elicited a series of interest rate cuts, a fresh jobs report on Tuesday showed.
—Max Zahn, ABC News, 16 Dec. 2025
The resulting statement included commitments by both sides to respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as to renounce the use of force to acquire land, something that had bedeviled their relations for decades.
—Ilan Berman, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Nov. 2025
Fraser was bedeviled by Elizabeth Hurley’s Beelzebub in Bedazzled (2000), earned career-best reviews for the Vietnam drama The Quiet American (2002), and landed a role in the Best Picture-winning Crash (2004).
—Andrew Walsh, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bedeviled
Adjective
-
There was no punchline, no twist — just the straightforward, slightly bewildered observation that someone, somewhere, had performed surgery on a grape.—
Samantha Agate,
Miami Herald,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Exasperated, bewildered, and realizing other musicians were also dealing with this, Bender came up with a way to show just how porous the system was.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
But as these researchers are the first to admit, the difficulty of defining intelligence is as old as the study of thinking itself—and has plagued artificial intelligence as a field from its very earliest days.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
30 Mar. 2026
-
The broader transportation program was also plagued with allegations of fraud in 2023 -- shortly after HCPF, relying on an apparently faulty analysis, recommended a significant increase in reimbursement rates in that service.—
Seth Klamann,
Denver Post,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The boyfriend is dead and Betty helps Laura, relatively unharmed but dazed, back to her house.—
Robert Abele,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Mar. 2026
-
When Sneaky Snook in his mail truck happened upon the wreckage near the boundary of Meredith Downs, sheep were scattered along the roadside and the fence, bleating, dazed.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
However, they are widely considered to be highly capable, especially for coalition warfare, despite some technical issues that have afflicted them in their first years of service.—
Pan Pylas,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Our mission is to feed the hungry, comfort the afflicted and offer hope to those in need, including the LGBTQ community.—
Donna Lamb,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
When the director approached Hanks directly, the actor was confused.—
Samantha Agate,
Miami Herald,
28 Mar. 2026
-
After catching confused glances all through Venice, traversing neighborhoods and winding along Abbott Kinney, the group landed at the home of Matt Ricotta.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The Eduiot site includes photographs and audiovisual material, and features the accounts of parents, siblings, cousins, nephews and nieces of Jews persecuted and disappeared under the dictatorship.—
Juan Melamed,
Sun Sentinel,
31 Mar. 2026
-
The helpless and much persecuted turtles were cooked in a rich, creamy soup with chunks of meat.—
James Stout,
Outside,
29 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Police noted that the driver of the Hyundai remained at the scene to cooperate with their investigation, and that speed, distracted driving and driving under the influence did not appear to be factors in the collision.—
Dean Fioresi,
CBS News,
29 Mar. 2026
-
As long as Woodson isn’t distracted, Wise is fine with it.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Bundy tortured, raped and killed dozens of young women in more than half a dozen states in the 1970s.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Estimates suggest that as many as 1,900 Jews were abducted, tortured and murdered by the military junta during the six-year Dirty War, when many sources say 30,000 people were disappeared.—
Juan Melamed,
Sun Sentinel,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bedeviled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bedeviled. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
