as in bewildered
suffering from mental confusion
some bedeviled motorists have complained that the road maps are more a hindrance than a help
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in plagued
to cause persistent suffering to
a lingering cold bedeviled me for over a month
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Recent Examples of bedeviled
Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 3 Feb. 2026
Libya’s central bank is suing Zimbabwe’s finance minister and national oil company for more than $100 million, the latest development in a spiraling debt crisis that’s bedeviled the southern African nation for a quarter of a century.
—William Clowes, Bloomberg, 28 Jan. 2026
The acrimony that bedeviled so many bands that NOFX avoided for 40 years had finally caught up with them.
—Jim Ruland, Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2026
Perhaps in Iran, which has been engulfed by mass protests, leading the president to threaten action against an oppressive regime that has bedeviled the United States for nearly half a century.
—Jonathan Lemire, The Atlantic, 13 Jan. 2026
These questions will be tough, likely impossible, to answer to everyone's satisfaction — and several have bedeviled lawmakers, and Iowans, before.
—Rachel E. Stassen-Berger, Des Moines Register, 8 Jan. 2026
Daniel Cole/Reuters Hiring slowed in November, resuming sluggish performance that has bedeviled the labor market for much of this year and elicited a series of interest rate cuts, a fresh jobs report on Tuesday showed.
—Max Zahn, ABC News, 16 Dec. 2025
The resulting statement included commitments by both sides to respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as to renounce the use of force to acquire land, something that had bedeviled their relations for decades.
—Ilan Berman, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Nov. 2025
Fraser was bedeviled by Elizabeth Hurley’s Beelzebub in Bedazzled (2000), earned career-best reviews for the Vietnam drama The Quiet American (2002), and landed a role in the Best Picture-winning Crash (2004).
—Andrew Walsh, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Nov. 2025
Verb
Mattison was excited about the possibility of helping the Dolphins solve their short-yardage shortcomings, a problem that had bedeviled them the previous two seasons.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 3 Feb. 2026
Libya’s central bank is suing Zimbabwe’s finance minister and national oil company for more than $100 million, the latest development in a spiraling debt crisis that’s bedeviled the southern African nation for a quarter of a century.
—William Clowes, Bloomberg, 28 Jan. 2026
The acrimony that bedeviled so many bands that NOFX avoided for 40 years had finally caught up with them.
—Jim Ruland, Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2026
Perhaps in Iran, which has been engulfed by mass protests, leading the president to threaten action against an oppressive regime that has bedeviled the United States for nearly half a century.
—Jonathan Lemire, The Atlantic, 13 Jan. 2026
These questions will be tough, likely impossible, to answer to everyone's satisfaction — and several have bedeviled lawmakers, and Iowans, before.
—Rachel E. Stassen-Berger, Des Moines Register, 8 Jan. 2026
Daniel Cole/Reuters Hiring slowed in November, resuming sluggish performance that has bedeviled the labor market for much of this year and elicited a series of interest rate cuts, a fresh jobs report on Tuesday showed.
—Max Zahn, ABC News, 16 Dec. 2025
The resulting statement included commitments by both sides to respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as to renounce the use of force to acquire land, something that had bedeviled their relations for decades.
—Ilan Berman, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Nov. 2025
Fraser was bedeviled by Elizabeth Hurley’s Beelzebub in Bedazzled (2000), earned career-best reviews for the Vietnam drama The Quiet American (2002), and landed a role in the Best Picture-winning Crash (2004).
—Andrew Walsh, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bedeviled
Adjective
-
Olivier tried successfully to get the reader to understand how a gentle, pacific young man could come to kill more than a thousand people, and so capturing the tone and empathetic portrayal not only of Simo Häyhä and his colleagues but also of the often-bewildered Russian soldiers was essential.—
Erik Pedersen,
Oc Register,
30 Jan. 2026
-
The usually positive Gauff went negative, lacked energy and seemed bewildered and overwhelmed.—
Merlisa Lawrence Corbett,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Corrections officers at the facility were projected to earn a base salary of more than $120,000 a year, almost three times the base pay of correctional officers in the state’s prisons, which have been plagued by chronic understaffing.—
Kate Payne,
Sun Sentinel,
2 Mar. 2026
-
Although crime is down in Nashville, the Downtown Detention Center has been plagued by overcrowding.—
James Verini,
New Yorker,
2 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Still, some songs can disrupt our dazed habit of barely listening and give us something to participate in.—
Mitch Therieau,
New Yorker,
7 Feb. 2026
-
But plenty of people tell of being left dazed and destabilized by ayahuasca ceremonies and struggling to return to their previous lives; some make sudden life changes that only bring distress and further trauma.—
Mattha Busby,
Rolling Stone,
16 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Those who aren’t afflicted by the syndrome might think dark thoughts, but they are kept buttoned up.—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
23 Feb. 2026
-
Costco's popular rotisserie chicken is at the center of another lawsuit, this one claiming that a chicken processing plant in Nebraska is afflicted by salmonella contamination, possibly affecting hundreds of millions of the birds sold through the warehouses.—
Cheryl V. Jackson,
Louisville Courier Journal,
20 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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New parking regulations in the Strip District However, Federal Street isn't the only place leaving drivers confused.—
John Shumway,
CBS News,
26 Feb. 2026
-
Before long, a confused Sage ran away from home.—
TIME Staff,
Time,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Russia has destroyed more than 600 churches, persecuted millions of Ukrainian Christians under occupation, and abducted more than 19,000 children in an effort to break Ukraine’s spirit.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
24 Feb. 2026
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The result is that, despite existing household pains owing to more expensive fuel, a resurgent kidnapping crisis that exposes deep security vulnerabilities, and external pressure from a US government that claims Christians are persecuted in Nigeria, Tinubu has expanded his base and looks strong.—
Alexander Onukwue,
semafor.com,
16 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
There are driver-specific factors that also increase safety risk on Houston highways, such as fatigue, distracted driving, speeding on suboptimal roads, and insufficient training.—
Wyles Daniel,
USA TODAY,
27 Feb. 2026
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An enforcement campaign typically describes a targeted and visible ticketing effort, most often focused on citations for things like impaired or distracted driving.—
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The mother of Tilly Servin, a toddler who prosecutors believe was tortured to death in Long Beach last year, is suing Los Angeles County’s child protection agency for leaving her daughter in the custody of the child’s father, who was previously sentenced to four years in prison for child abuse.—
Rebecca Ellis,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Feb. 2026
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Some detainees are tortured to get information about other protesters or to get confessions, usually admitting to working with foreign governments, which are often televised, according to Aban, who has documented over 300 confessions carried in various state media outlets since the protests began.—
Babak Dehghanpisheh,
NBC news,
26 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bedeviled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bedeviled. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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