1
as in fooled
to cause to believe what is untrue
bamboozled by con men into buying worthless land in the desert
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in baffled
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
I'm completely bamboozled by the latest changes in the tax code
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bamboozled
Verb
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Hurricanes explained by Ginger Zee Don't be fooled by the lack of tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Basin.—
Julia Jacobo,
ABC News,
10 Sep. 2025 -
After driving his team to the 1-yard line, Fields fooled the entire Steelers defense on a fourth down, faking a handoff and then high-stepping into the end zone untouched to take a 32-31 lead.—
Mike DeFabo,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Advertisement Advertisement But days after the shooting, authorities have yet to discover a coherent motive for the killing of Kirk—the founder of Turning Point USA and a popular figure on the American right—and experts on extremism are similarly baffled by the possible motivations.—
Richard Hall,
Time,
13 Sep. 2025
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The result is a set of policies that has baffled some China experts, or at least raised questions about the president’s stance on America’s friendly rival.—
Christian Datoc,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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An Arizona inmate tricked court officials into releasing him more than two decades early by filing fake orders allegedly dismissing his charges.—
Suzanne Nuyen,
NPR,
10 Sep. 2025
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Many of the women who spoke Monday addressed that claim directly, saying they were tricked and coerced from the start and that the deceit went far beyond one lie about where the video would be distributed.—
Alex Riggins,
Mercury News,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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From Scepticism to Confidence In my discussions, executives often admit being puzzled about how to approach AI.—
London School of Economics,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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The move has puzzled many since ending the program would bar every company, including oil firms, from accessing federal subsidies for capturing carbon or producing hydrogen fuel.—
Natasha Bracken,
semafor.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Soto and her twins say both families were deceived – their family in Chile and their adoptive parents in Italy who didn’t know the girls had been taken away from their biological mother without her consent.—
Rafael Romo,
CNN Money,
16 Sep. 2025
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The band’s attorneys said that consumers could be easily deceived by the products allegedly sold on the marketplace, which could, in turn, cause reputational damage for Twenty One Pilots and its legitimate products.—
Meghan Hall,
Sourcing Journal,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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For nearly 20 years, astronomers have been perplexed by the strange disk of dust and debris circling Fomalhaut, a bright star just 25 light-years from Earth.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Sep. 2025
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Many historians have been perplexed by how such a seemingly simple man as Shakespeare could have written works of such grandeur and depth.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
30 Aug. 2025
Verb
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At one point, O’Steen was confused by a question, and the resulting back-and-forth was reminiscent of an Abbott and Costello repartee.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
12 Sep. 2025
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It should not be confused with Article 5, the cornerstone of the alliance, which states an armed attack on one NATO ally will be considered an act of violence against all members and prompt assistance to the member concerned.—
Lauren Kent,
CNN Money,
11 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Bamboozled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bamboozled. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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