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 of bewildered

• dazed
• confused
• stunned
• distracted
• dizzy

Examples of bewildered in a Sentence

the bewildered child wandered aimlessly around the playground

Recent Examples on the Web

There was no punchline, no twist — just the straightforward, slightly bewildered observation that someone, somewhere, had performed surgery on a grape. —Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 26 Mar. 2026

Exasperated, bewildered, and realizing other musicians were also dealing with this, Bender came up with a way to show just how porous the system was. —Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2026

Desmond is wonderful in the part, finding sympathy and just the right amount of bewildered charisma without tipping into caddishness. —Sara Holdren, Vulture, 23 Mar. 2026

Be careful about coming on so strong that others are bewildered or defensive. —Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 15 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1760, in the meaning defined above