befuddled

adjective

be·​fud·​dled bi-ˈfə-dᵊld 

bē-

: utterly confused or puzzled : deeply perplexed

… somebody may be so befuddled and self-destructive as to miss the point entirely.

—Anne B. Fisher

I just asked her to please talk to my agent, who understood what was going on, not me. … frankly, I didn't know what to do, or whomto believe. I was totally befuddled.

—John Nichols

Synonyms

• addle
• addled
• addlepated
• bedeviled
• befogged
• bemused
• bewildered
• bushed [chiefly Australian]
• confounded
• confused
• dazed
• distracted
• dizzy
• dopey
• dopy
• fogged
• mixed-up
• muddleheaded
• muzzy
• pixilated
• pixillated
• punch-drunk
• punchy
• raddled
• shell-shocked
• silly
• slaphappy
• spaced-out
• spaced
• spacey
• spacy
• stunned
• stupefied
• zonked
• zonked-out

Examples of befuddled in a Sentence

the perennially befuddled professor was always forgetting where she'd left her glasses

Recent Examples on the Web

Take a recent episode about cruises, which featured Ben Stiller, Quinta Brunson, and Mulaney’s frequent comedy partner Nick Kroll, along with a befuddled industry expert named Anne Kalosh. —David Sims, The Atlantic, 7 Apr. 2025

Black co-stars with Day, Dismukes, and Fineman as the befuddled audience members, loudly chiming in from the front row after every line to reply. —Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 6 Apr. 2025

At the same time, Schumer supporting the stopgap bill will only increase turmoil within the Democrat party, and make its members look more befuddled about how to deal with the Trump White House. —Mark Davis, Newsweek, 14 Mar. 2025

Despite constantly seeing that defense this season, Shanahan looked downright befuddled against it. —Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 12 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1838, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for befuddled

• cuddled
• huddled
• muddled
• puddled