as in bewildered
suffering from mental confusion
the perennially befuddled professor was always forgetting where she'd left her glasses
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in baffled
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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of befuddled
Idrees Kahloon, The Atlantic, 8 Feb. 2026
Audiences felt the same way — moved, if befuddled — during her 2013 Golden Globes speech.
—Daniel D'addario, Variety, 7 Jan. 2026
Luca Evans, Denver Post, 15 Sep. 2025
Stainton Williams has been similarly befuddled by his interactions with Citizens.
—Mario Ariza, ProPublica, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for befuddled
Adjective
Though voters gave Labour a large parliamentary majority in 2024, Starmer has seemed befuddled about how to wield it.
—Idrees Kahloon, The Atlantic, 8 Feb. 2026
Audiences felt the same way — moved, if befuddled — during her 2013 Golden Globes speech.
—Daniel D'addario, Variety, 7 Jan. 2026
Verb
And the offensive operation looked much smoother, as Payton meshed the Colts to death and befuddled their defense on a second-quarter touchdown in which tight end Adam Trautman split out wide.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 15 Sep. 2025
Stainton Williams has been similarly befuddled by his interactions with Citizens.
—Mario Ariza, ProPublica, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for befuddled
Recent Examples of Synonyms for befuddled
Adjective
-
Connie is bewildered but happy about this.—
Alice Burton,
Vulture,
20 Apr. 2026
-
This sometimes left audience members bewildered about what had actually happened.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Government officials, who had already introduced measures to ease the burden of price rises a few weeks ago, were baffled over the rationale behind the protests because the global price spike is due to the Middle East conflict that restricted oil exports.—
Brian Melley,
Fortune,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Government officials, who had already introduced measures to ease the burden of price increases two weeks ago, have been baffled over the rationale behind the protests because the global price spike is due to the conflict in the Mideast that has restricted oil exports.—
Brian Melley,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
In his emotional breakdowns, Elliott buckles under his testy relationship with his mother Lynn and then wanders through gatherings and parties with a perpetually dazed expression.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
10 Apr. 2026
-
No one is immune to the lampooning, even the dazed and confused sons and daughters who get sidelined and pawned off due to their parents’ ambitions, neuroses and desires to achieve greatness.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
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His award recognizes his contributions to settle several questions in differential geometry that had puzzled mathematicians since the 1970s and 1980s.—
Chase Hunter,
Mercury News,
19 Apr. 2026
-
The diminutive scale of Giacometti’s proposal—a nondescript bust atop a small square base—puzzled his colleagues.—
Ara H. Merjian,
ARTnews.com,
16 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
It gets filled by outside forces, many of whom have foreign ties and understand that a confused and misinformed public is easier to manipulate than an informed one.—
Julian Baron,
Baltimore Sun,
19 Apr. 2026
-
The second is that Trump, as strategist-in-chief, keeps giving his negotiators objectives so implausible, confused or contradictory that even the wiliest diplomats in history — a Klemens von Metternich in the 19th century, say, or a Henry Kissinger in the 20th — would come up empty.—
Andreas Kluth,
Mercury News,
18 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Baer appeared perplexed by this coy pretense of innocence.—
Patrick Radden Keefe,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Stocks’ march higher in the face of deepening geopolitical uncertainty is leaving some on Wall Street increasingly perplexed.—
Yun Li,
CNBC,
13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Summer Anne Lee, a presidential fashion historian and professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), told Newsweek at the time that Sánchez Bezos’ fashion statement on the historic day left her stunned.—
Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
14 Apr. 2026
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The Detroit Red Wings sat on the bench, stewing in stunned silence, after their latest loss sealed their fate as a franchise relegated to watching the NHL playoffs on TV.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
12 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that distracted driving was responsible for 3,275 traffic deaths in 2023.—
Bailey Allen,
Cape Cod Times,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Spending habits can also help determine a player’s level of maturity, revealing whether they’re disciplined or become distracted.—
Rob Maaddi,
The Orlando Sentinel,
9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Befuddled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/befuddled. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
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