Ruth B. Smith
H. L. Mencken
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In 1735, British poet Alexander Pope lamented, in rhyme, being besieged by “a parson much bemus’d in beer.” The cleric in question was apparently one of a horde of would-be poets who pestered Pope with requests that he read their verses. Pope meant that the parson had found his muse—his inspiration—in beer. That use of bemused harks back to a 1705 letter in which Pope wrote of “Poets … irrecoverably Be-mus’d.” In both letter and poem, Pope used bemused to allude to being inspired by or devoted to one of the Muses, the Greek sister goddesses of art, music, and literature. The lexicographers who followed him, however, interpreted “bemus’d in beer” as meaning “left confused by beer,” and their confusion gave rise to the “bewilder” sense of bemuse. The newer (and very common) use of bemuse to mean “to cause to have feelings of wry or tolerant amusement” is a topic of some dispute, as discussed here.
Examples of bemuse in a Sentence
Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026
The over-40s likeliest to recognize everything here surely don’t require such an extended reminder; everyone else might just be bemused that He-Man ever had such power in the first place.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 2 June 2026
Herrington, once bemused by how cultlike the principles seemed, now views them as an indispensable guide for culture at Amazon—and one that’s stood the test of time and will continue to do so.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 18 Feb. 2026
Bayern’s players were also bemused by the decision not to award a very late spot kick to them for handball.
—Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bemuse
Cite this Entry
“Bemuse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bemuse. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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bemuse
verb
