befuddle

verb

be·​fud·​dle bi-ˈfə-dᵊl 

bē-

befuddled; befuddling; befuddles

transitive verb

1

: to muddle or stupefy with or as if with drink

… befuddled with drink all the time.

—Ellen Glasgow

2

: confuse, perplex

a problem that still befuddles the experts

befuddlement

bi-ˈfə-dᵊl-mənt 

bē-

noun

Synonyms

• bewilder
• perplex
• confuse
• baffle
• puzzle

Examples of befuddle in a Sentence

most of the applicants were befuddled by the wording of one of the questions on the driving test

Recent Examples on the Web

When Anthropic secretly added additional weekly usage limits to Claude Code, power users were left befuddled, claiming the company’s calculation of usage was inaccurate. —Rashi Shrivastava, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025

For those counties that stayed on the list during its short life, its makeup befuddled some commissioners, who didn't understand why they were included. —Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 18 July 2025

Also, the moment when the actor raised the whiskey glass to his mouth completely befuddled consumers. —Seth Reiss, New Yorker, 10 July 2025

Aleksander Barkov added a highlight-reel goal for Florida in the second period, while Sergei Bobrovsky again befuddled Carolina with 37 stops. —Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 19 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

be- + fuddle

First Known Use

1801, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for befuddle

• cuddle
• huddle
• muddle
• puddle

Kids Definition

befuddle

verb

be·​fud·​dle bi-ˈfəd-ᵊl 

befuddled; befuddling

-ˈfəd-liŋ,

-ᵊl-iŋ

1

: to dull the senses of with or as if with too much drink : stupefy

2

: confuse sense 1a, perplex

befuddlement

-mənt 

noun