bewildering

adjective

be·​wil·​der·​ing bi-ˈwil-d(ə-)riŋ 

bē-

: extremely confusing or difficult to understand

an utterly bewildering experience

a bewildering number of possibilities

… a place of odd traditions and bewildering practices.

—David Williamson

bewilderingly adverb

a bewilderingly complex situation

Examples of bewildering in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But even amidst so much bewildering bleakness, there are moments of beauty to be found in a new season, in a new revolution of the wheel of the year. —Gabrielle Bellot, Literary Hub, 27 Feb. 2026

The driver sits in a power seat faced by a squircular steering wheel and a smaller digital display for a semi-bewildering array of gauges; information bleeds over itself, leaving bits like brake regen blended too far into the mix. —Marty Padgett, The Drive, 26 Feb. 2026

Braude grounds his narrative in the persistent dilemmas of journalism, especially the question of how to tell the story of a bewildering moment without the benefit of hindsight. —Casey Schwartz, The Atlantic, 26 Feb. 2026

That’s why his disappearance was so bewildering to his family and friends. —Outside, 20 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1761, in the meaning defined above