befuddled

adjective

be·​fud·​dled bi-ˈfə-dᵊld How to pronounce befuddled (audio)
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 whom to believe. I was totally befuddled.John Nichols

Examples of befuddled in a Sentence

the perennially befuddled professor was always forgetting where she'd left her glasses
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
The filmmaker instead evokes his earlier work—namely Dogtooth and The Killing of a Sacred Deer—combining the mannered, hermetic bleakness of those tales with the befuddled existentialism of a Samuel Beckett play. Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 31 Oct. 2025 Watts then looks toward the Kardashians camera and flashes a befuddled look. Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Oct. 2025 And, at least to our befuddled mind, clarity as well. Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 22 Oct. 2025 OpenAI appeared befuddled at the bad reception and promised to make changes. Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for befuddled

Word History

First Known Use

1787, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of befuddled was in 1787

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Cite this Entry

“Befuddled.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/befuddled. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.

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