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

• dazed
• confused
• stunned
• distracted
• dizzy

Examples of bewildered in a Sentence

the bewildered child wandered aimlessly around the playground

Recent Examples on the Web

Wednesday confronts Bianca, who is bewildered about her Siren-song not sticking; Wednesday is taking control of things now and Bianca needs to trust her. —Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2025

Layered in cream, bruised, bewildered, bald. —Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 30 Aug. 2025

Those of us clinging to the standards of the previous knowledge regime will again end up replaced and bewildered. —Philip Maymin, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025

At times, Sunflower County Justice Court Judge Lisa Bell seemed bewildered as other LSSC members described the cloudiness of the endeavor. —Kevin Collier, NBC news, 26 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1760, in the meaning defined above