as in bewildered
suffering from mental confusion
the perennially befuddled professor was always forgetting where she'd left her glasses
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in puzzled
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of befuddled
Alida Becker, New York Times, 30 May 2025
His Midsummer Night’s Dream—which returns to New York City Ballet repertory for one week this spring, beginning on May 27—honors the high and low humor of its befuddled lovers and decadent fairies.
—Matthew Brookoff, Air Mail, 17 May 2025
Dalton Ross, EW.com, 25 Aug. 2025
The Padres were mostly befuddled by Giants starter Kai-Wei Teng for three innings last night.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for befuddled
Adjective
Inspired by the historical figure known as Lambert Simnel, THE PRETENDER (Knopf, 471 pp., $30) is a rollicking account of a befuddled boy’s pillar-to-post existence as a political pawn.
—Alida Becker, New York Times, 30 May 2025
His Midsummer Night’s Dream—which returns to New York City Ballet repertory for one week this spring, beginning on May 27—honors the high and low humor of its befuddled lovers and decadent fairies.
—Matthew Brookoff, Air Mail, 17 May 2025
Verb
Or just confused vibes, such as when one player befuddled another by doing his best Puddy from Seinfeld on a plane impersonation.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 25 Aug. 2025
The Padres were mostly befuddled by Giants starter Kai-Wei Teng for three innings last night.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for befuddled
Recent Examples of Synonyms for befuddled
Adjective
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Wednesday confronts Bianca, who is bewildered about her Siren-song not sticking; Wednesday is taking control of things now and Bianca needs to trust her.—
Jessica M. Goldstein,
Vulture,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Layered in cream, bruised, bewildered, bald.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
30 Aug. 2025
Verb
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But at seven weeks, doctors were already puzzled.—
Daniella Gray,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Aug. 2025
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Bill Gross, then-head of Pimco and a true bond market expert, was just as puzzled.—
George Calhoun,
Forbes.com,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
The same woman who used to have fun behind her camera now seems sleepy, dazed, and even drugged.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Some seemed visibly dazed to suddenly be back in their homeland.—
Patrick Oppmann,
CNN Money,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Many commenters were baffled no one wanted to match with McBride.—
Charles Trepany,
USA Today,
29 Aug. 2025
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Those are the same factors that left observers baffled by how the fire was handled a month earlier.—
Stephanie Murray,
AZCentral.com,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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While his wife and daughter build a new life in Vienna, Roman stays behind — confused, restless and convinced that things will get better.—
Christopher Vourlias,
Variety,
6 Sep. 2025
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With nearby MPs training their guns on her, Ziva laid down her weapon and sprawled across the blacktop, looking up at a confused Tali.—
Matt Webb Mitovich,
TVLine,
4 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
Adjective
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Micah Parsons is officially a member of the Green Bay Packers, and members of the Dallas Cowboys are just as stunned as the rest of the NFL world.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
29 Aug. 2025
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This time, a packed house at Arena Riga was the one left in a stunned silence.—
Bobby Krivitsky,
Forbes.com,
27 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The Lincoln Nautilus is an underappreciated contender in the luxury midsize SUV market, part of a brand that seems tired, itself part of an automaker that seems perpetually distracted, itself part of an automotive ecosystem that is awash in luxury midsize SUVs from very, very tough competitors.—
Erik Shilling,
Robb Report,
2 Sep. 2025
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In 1980, when Iraq’s president, Saddam Hussein, seized oil fields on the Iranian border, under the assumption that Iran was too distracted to object, Iran saw an opportunity to pivot to fighting external enemies.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Befuddled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/befuddled. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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