bewildered

1 of 2

adjective

be·​wil·​dered bi-ˈwil-dərd 

bē-

: deeply or utterly confused or perplexed

I was appalled and was too bewildered to do or say anything.

—Bram Stoker

He looked at her with a bewildered expression.

Speaking for myself, I stumbled into motherhood and was bewildered at the shift of gears, the volte-face required to reorient myself, my values and my way of life into being a carer of small children.

—Madeleine Bunting

bewildered

2 of 2

past tense and past participle of bewilder

Synonyms of bewildered

Adjective

• dazed
• confused
• stunned
• distracted
• dizzy

Examples of bewildered in a Sentence

Adjective

the bewildered child wandered aimlessly around the playground

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

When kids first got online, parents were bewildered and alarmed, but kids, who tend to gravitate to new technology, found freedom in a space that was basically ungoverned. — Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2026

That bewildered shake of the head after Meyer's pitch in that video is not a rare occurrence for Raleigh this year. — Eno Sarris, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026

On Douban, a popular Chinese movie-review platform, viewers piled on with mocking and bewildered comments. — ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026

That's when Penix, who was standing nearby, pointed at him and made a bewildered face. — Matt Reigle Outkick, FOXNews.com, 16 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1760, in the meaning defined above