addling

verb

present participle of addle
as in baffling
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty after slipping on the ice, Bethany was so addled that she left her groceries where they'd fallen

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for addling
  1. baffling
  2. puzzling
  3. bewildering
  4. confusing
  5. perplexing
  6. rattling
Verb
  • Despite some protests about a dog contributing to the game, Buddy — clad in a bright blue jersey and two pairs of basketball kicks — scores baffling basket after baffling basket, leaving the other team shocked.
    — Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 27 July 2026
  • While Loathe’s baffling compositional choices may jump out first, the album’s most glaring flaw is its production.
    — Patrick Lyons, Pitchfork, 16 July 2026
Definition of baffling
Verb
  • Hollows haven’t been found elsewhere on planets in our solar system, and with no wind or water to form the thousands of puzzling depressions, scientists want to know what forces sculpted them.
    — Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Polite, slightly puzzling debates over the merits of using concrete in Africa muffle the period’s scalding passions and incandescent dreams.
    — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of puzzling
Verb
  • The threats are constantly evolving, layering upon themselves with bewildering speed.
    — Craig Hooper, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • But these casting decisions are bewildering, to say the least, and will certainly cost the film ticket sales and potential revenue.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 6 July 2026
Definition of bewildering
Verb
  • Dirty glass, confusing backing liners and difficulty repositioning the film were among the most common frustrations.
    — Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Then began the desperate, confusing search for their colleagues.
    — Ross Adkin, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of confusing
Verb
  • Gibson Nash, 21, was charged with first-degree murder after a series of perplexing events eventually led police to his mother’s bloodied body.
    — Natasha Holt, FOXNews.com, 9 Aug. 2026
  • But there were also perplexing moments that punctured the gravitas of the event (even for an event built around hand-to-hand combat).
    — Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 15 June 2026
Definition of perplexing
Verb
  • And yep, my phone was rattling like a Richter Scale when all that happened, too.
    — Jayson Stark, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • The song was a frenetic evolution of Brooklyn drill—the grimy, bone-rattling subgenre of hip-hop popularized by Bobby Shmurda—and its instrumental by the British producer 808Melo gave it a brash East London bounce.
    — Taran Dugal, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of rattling
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

addles
addling
add-on
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Cite this Entry

“Addling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/addling. Accessed 9 Sep. 2026.

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