Synonyms of bafflement

bafflement

noun

as in confusion

a state of mental uncertainty

his complete bafflement as to the point of the joke was in itself funny

Synonyms & Similar Words

• confusion
• fog
• bewilderment
• perplexity
• bemusement
• tangle
• puzzlement
• befuddlement
• mystification
• discomfort
• discombobulation
• dismay
• embarrassment
• head-scratching
• bamboozlement
• distress
• maze
• confusedness
• bewilderedness
• distraction
• mortification
• discomfiture
• muddle
• chagrin
• whirl
• agitation
• upset
• commotion
• disquiet
• perturbation
• abashment
• turmoil
• disturbance
• flurry
• disconcertment
• fuss
• fluster
• dither
• bother
• stew

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• confidence
• conviction
• certainty
• assurance
• certitude
• sureness
• positiveness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of bafflement

Opening in limited release on October 15, critics are more or less united in their awe, amusement, and sheer bafflement at what Fielder and Oppenheim were able to capture. — Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026

Bartiromo’s former colleagues and friends talked about her MAGA transformation with bafflement and disappointment. — Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2026

Elliott was also mispegged as a folk singer during his lifetime, to his own bafflement; his music has a pop architecture that runs deep, and an architecture that goes deeper than that is purely, idiosyncratically Elliott. — Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2026

But those willing to pay can suffer betrayals and bafflements of their own. — David Frum, The Atlantic, 24 July 2026

The result is an incredible repository of vexations, bafflements, witticisms, and brilliancies. — Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 1 June 2026

Internally, the Bulls coaching staff has reached a point of bafflement with the forward. — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 26 Mar. 2026

But public criticism, questions and bafflement have surrounded the decision to set out from the huts at Frog Lake in the middle of the season’s fiercest storm. — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 19 Feb. 2026

Just silence and forlorn stares of players stuck in a state of bafflement and disappointment. — Nicki Jhabvala, New York Times, 8 Dec. 2025