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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of befuddled
Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 1 June 2025
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
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
In the middle stands utterly human Léa, who has the sweetly befuddled air, wild mane, and wide eyes of a young Carol Kane.
—Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 1 June 2025
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
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
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As Friday’s stabbing incident involving NFL alum Mark Sanchez slowly comes into focus, the team at Fox Sports seems to be just as bewildered as the rest of us.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
5 Oct. 2025
-
Hair disheveled, a dazed and bewildered look in his eyes, the coach trudged into his own dressing room to regroup and get a rundown of a growing list of injuries.—
Mike Jones,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The supermodel and businesswoman, 51, has puzzled followers with frenzied TikToks about her dreams to serve Hot Ice Cream at her Australian ice cream shop, SMiZE and Dream.—
Sabrina Weiss,
PEOPLE,
7 Oct. 2025
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Reports surfaced claiming that WWE was puzzled by such a low grade, followed by rumors that the company pushed to have Hale fired from his position at ESPN.—
Fernando Quiles Jr,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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With scraggly hair and beard and a dazed countenance of man waking up from an unspeakable dream, Reeves brings the tender vulnerability to his Estragon (aka Gogo).—
Frank Rizzo,
Variety,
29 Sep. 2025
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Hair disheveled, a dazed and bewildered look in his eyes, the coach trudged into his own dressing room to regroup and get a rundown of a growing list of injuries.—
Mike Jones,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But the rhetoric has baffled Democrats, who see ER payments as effective and noncontroversial and are unwilling to disavow it.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
2 Oct. 2025
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Fans in the surrounding section can be heard in shock, baffled that the man gave away such a coveted possession.—
Skyler Caruso,
PEOPLE,
25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Some investors were confused that the draft rules published Wednesday evening still contained references to a foreign ownership cap that was set to be amended.—
Matthew Martin,
semafor.com,
3 Oct. 2025
-
On city streets, a confused robotaxi can just pull over.—
Saahil Desai,
The Atlantic,
2 Oct. 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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Combs appeared stunned and wide-eyed as Subramanian mentioned his children in his address and also imposed five years of supervised release and a $500,000 fine, the maximum possible.—
Nancy Dillon,
Rolling Stone,
3 Oct. 2025
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Though Guzman had always wanted to go, this year marked her first time, and stepping inside left her stunned.—
Jordan Greene,
PEOPLE,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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But Jon seemed distracted, and not altogether himself, Rachel tells Rolling Stone.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
1 Oct. 2025
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However, people with ASD are more likely to have trouble shifting their focus rather than being easily distracted and hyperactive in general.—
Laura Dorwart,
Health,
29 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Befuddled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/befuddled. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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