as in perplexing
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as in baffling
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
most of the applicants were befuddled by the wording of one of the questions on the driving test
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Recent Examples of befuddling
Justin Ray, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2026
The befuddling ballroom renovations are one thing, but the recent unrest in Minnesota is something entirely different.
—Kyle Denis, Billboard, 29 Jan. 2026
McCarthy had shown flashes of brilliance during the season but his inability to connect with star wide receiver Justin Jefferson had been a befuddling question mark throughout the season.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 21 Dec. 2025
That's why makes Seattle's decision to part ways with Martinez that much more befuddling.
—Matthew Schmidt, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 8 Apr. 2026
Shares are erasing some of those two-day losses on Monday, but our overarching point about the befuddling post-earnings market reaction holds true.
—Zev Fima, CNBC, 2 Mar. 2026
Desire Doue let the ball run through his legs, befuddling his marker to such a degree that the only sensible reaction was laughter.
—Jack Lang, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2026
The left-hander from California struck out nine Michigan State Spartans in Sunday's 4-0 victory at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, befuddling his overmatched victims with an electric breaking ball.
—David Eckert, Austin American Statesman, 23 Feb. 2026
Many applicants have received identical messages lately, befuddling students as well as lab heads who may be used to hearing about rejections but not a string of applications simply returned without review.
—Jonathan Wosen, STAT, 11 Feb. 2026
He was less intimidated by its befuddling organization and had grown accustomed to the antiquated spellings and the nearly illegible, unpunctuated scribblings of harried seventeenth-century officials.
—Literary Hub, 28 Jan. 2026
Atlanta then declined to pick up Kinley’s option for 2026, which was a bit befuddling at the time.
—Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 16 Jan. 2026
The idea of a Russian doing academic research on Iraq was utterly befuddling to Maher and his colleagues.
—Elizabeth Tsurkov, The Atlantic, 11 Jan. 2026
Adjective
Among them is Xander Schauffele, who had a befuddling ball-striking day.
—Justin Ray, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2026
The befuddling ballroom renovations are one thing, but the recent unrest in Minnesota is something entirely different.
—Kyle Denis, Billboard, 29 Jan. 2026
McCarthy had shown flashes of brilliance during the season but his inability to connect with star wide receiver Justin Jefferson had been a befuddling question mark throughout the season.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 21 Dec. 2025
That's why makes Seattle's decision to part ways with Martinez that much more befuddling.
—Matthew Schmidt, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
Verb
This description recalls what leadership expert Jason Wild previously told Fortune about how AI tools are probabilistic, befuddling managers everywhere.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 8 Apr. 2026
Shares are erasing some of those two-day losses on Monday, but our overarching point about the befuddling post-earnings market reaction holds true.
—Zev Fima, CNBC, 2 Mar. 2026
Desire Doue let the ball run through his legs, befuddling his marker to such a degree that the only sensible reaction was laughter.
—Jack Lang, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2026
The left-hander from California struck out nine Michigan State Spartans in Sunday's 4-0 victory at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, befuddling his overmatched victims with an electric breaking ball.
—David Eckert, Austin American Statesman, 23 Feb. 2026
Many applicants have received identical messages lately, befuddling students as well as lab heads who may be used to hearing about rejections but not a string of applications simply returned without review.
—Jonathan Wosen, STAT, 11 Feb. 2026
He was less intimidated by its befuddling organization and had grown accustomed to the antiquated spellings and the nearly illegible, unpunctuated scribblings of harried seventeenth-century officials.
—Literary Hub, 28 Jan. 2026
Atlanta then declined to pick up Kinley’s option for 2026, which was a bit befuddling at the time.
—Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 16 Jan. 2026
The idea of a Russian doing academic research on Iraq was utterly befuddling to Maher and his colleagues.
—Elizabeth Tsurkov, The Atlantic, 11 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for befuddling
Adjective
-
The whole situation was perplexing.—
Jared Weiss,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Our universe is full of mysteries, but few are as perplexing as the dark, tiny galaxies that hover around larger ones like the Milky Way.—
Paul Sutter,
Space.com,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The slow starts are baffling to Becht.—
Chris Hays,
The Orlando Sentinel,
4 May 2026
-
As the castle’s internal order collapses under the weight of a string of baffling crimes, Araki strikes a fragile alliance with Kuroda Kanbei – a razor-minded captive languishing in his own dungeon – in a race to root out a traitor before Oda’s army closes in.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
14 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Grief is one of the most confounding aspects of the human experience.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
17 Apr. 2026
-
In 2021, one year into D’Amaro’s tenure and following COVID shutdowns, Disney did away with FastPass and introduced a confounding and very costly series of pay-to-skip passes, which require timing advanced booking of limited slots in these formerly free-to-enter shorter lines.—
Rebecca Alter,
Vulture,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But as of last month, the FDA has twice opted not to approve RP1, puzzling researchers and worrying drug developers.—
K. R. Callaway,
Scientific American,
2 May 2026
-
Alvarado, however, continued a puzzling trend.—
Matt Gelb,
New York Times,
1 May 2026
Adjective
-
Though Hathaway’s work doesn’t make sense of the film’s confusing political turns, her fraught navigation of the personal and the political plays like a magnetic performance from a better movie.—
Chris Feil,
Vulture,
1 May 2026
-
Fans aren't happy with FIFA for many reasons Then there was the confusing way FIFA is selling the World Cup tickets, from using lotteries to its hard-to-understand array of seating categories.—
Rafael Nam,
NPR,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
But even more than engaging the big ideas that Emma’s revelation triggers — pun somewhat intended — Lee and Borli wanted to craft an experience that would mimic its main characters’ bewildering interiority.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
6 Apr. 2026
-
There aren’t many ways to earn a club’s first win better than bewildering the league’s defending champions at their place.—
Braidon Nourse,
Denver Post,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The keenness of my letdown was dismaying.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Feb. 2026
-
But there’s another side to this story, equally dismaying, which is the abandonment of dissidents as a public cause in the West.—
Bret Stephens,
Mercury News,
12 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Other content, however, could be so disconcerting that it is assumed never to produce meaningful debate, and news outlets (and other platforms) need to make difficult decisions on how to identify and remove such content.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
22 Apr. 2026
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There are plenty of inconveniences frequent air travelers have become accustomed to, from long security lines to shrinking overhead storage bins, but few are as disconcerting as heavy turbulence in flight.—
Stacey Leasca,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Befuddling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/befuddling. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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