as in to bewilder
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
most of the applicants were befuddled by the wording of one of the questions on the driving test
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Recent Examples of befuddle
He was less intimidated by its befuddling organization and had grown accustomed to the antiquated spellings and the nearly illegible, unpunctuated scribblings of harried seventeenth-century officials.
—
Literary Hub, 28 Jan. 2026
And any Rams fan who was around for that game probably remembers Dieter Brock, and the irony that the quarterback the Rams brought in from the Canadian Football League was befuddled by winds that reached up to 23 mph, to go with 36 degree temperatures and 26-degree wind chill.
—Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 17 Jan. 2026
Atlanta then declined to pick up Kinley’s option for 2026, which was a bit befuddling at the time.
—Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 16 Jan. 2026
The idea of a Russian doing academic research on Iraq was utterly befuddling to Maher and his colleagues.
—Elizabeth Tsurkov, The Atlantic, 11 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for befuddle
Literary Hub, 28 Jan. 2026
And any Rams fan who was around for that game probably remembers Dieter Brock, and the irony that the quarterback the Rams brought in from the Canadian Football League was befuddled by winds that reached up to 23 mph, to go with 36 degree temperatures and 26-degree wind chill.
—Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 17 Jan. 2026
Atlanta then declined to pick up Kinley’s option for 2026, which was a bit befuddling at the time.
—Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 16 Jan. 2026
The idea of a Russian doing academic research on Iraq was utterly befuddling to Maher and his colleagues.
—Elizabeth Tsurkov, The Atlantic, 11 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for befuddle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for befuddle
Verb
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Now, many millions of Americans are bewildered by events.—
David French,
Mercury News,
3 Mar. 2026
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McNutt housed some 700 kids — about one-third of the population of French Lick — and Bird found the campus outside the dormitory walls bewildering.—
Keith O'Brien,
Rolling Stone,
22 Feb. 2026
Verb
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These are the brutally real snapshots of a man well acquainted with—but still perplexed by—the powerful and destructive forces that lord over our lives.—
Dash Lewis,
Pitchfork,
4 Mar. 2026
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Hour said he was perplexed by his liberal friends expressing their condolences.—
Julian Roberts-Grmela,
New York Daily News,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In the fall of 2023, Yanxiao joined Tsinghua University, where his research confused professors who were accustomed to more conventional disciplinary lines.—
Chang Che,
New Yorker,
8 Mar. 2026
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But the notice sent last spring was so vague and confusing that few people used it to object.—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Mar. 2026
Verb
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One administrator told me that he was baffled, but that the embassy staff seemed confident that something would come of it.—
Chang Che,
New Yorker,
8 Mar. 2026
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Books like this can frustrate and baffle.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The instinct to head back to a war zone may seem puzzling, but the reality on the ground generally isn’t as dire as the headlines suggest.—
Manal Albarakati,
semafor.com,
6 Mar. 2026
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This puzzling behavior has long raised questions about how materials without a regular molecular structure can still remain mechanically stable.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Befuddle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/befuddle. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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