bewildered

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

Synonyms

• addle
• addled
• addlepated
• bedeviled
• befogged
• befuddled
• bemused
• 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 bewildered in a Sentence

the bewildered child wandered aimlessly around the playground

Recent Examples on the Web

Apart from the odd bewildered tourist or local going about their day, the vast majority of people in the carriage were heading to what most regarded as a ‘must-win’ match at home to Everton and the vibe, like the team’s results in 2025, was mixed. —Simon Johnson, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025

Every lap felt like a mind-numbing carousel ride through car exhaust and past bewildered pedestrians, while inhaling burrito-scented air. —Marley Dickinson, Outside Online, 17 Apr. 2025

Morgan Freeman anchors the film as the bewildered professor who watches Lucy's transformation into a post-human deity with increasing awe. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Apr. 2025

In the two years since Tommy Elliott was killed in a mass shooting, Maryanne Elliott’s grief has, in turns, left her aghast and overwhelmed, bewildered and incapacitated, grateful and wanting to die. —Kristina Goetz, USA Today, 13 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1760, in the meaning defined above