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
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
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
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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Everybody seems bewildered by this news, his own wife most of all.—
Ben Rosenstock,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
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Layered in cream, bruised, bewildered, bald.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
30 Aug. 2025
Verb
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From Scepticism to Confidence In my discussions, executives often admit being puzzled about how to approach AI.—
London School of Economics,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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The move has puzzled many since ending the program would bar every company, including oil firms, from accessing federal subsidies for capturing carbon or producing hydrogen fuel.—
Natasha Bracken,
semafor.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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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
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Some seemed visibly dazed to suddenly be back in their homeland.—
Patrick Oppmann,
CNN Money,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Advertisement Advertisement But days after the shooting, authorities have yet to discover a coherent motive for the killing of Kirk—the founder of Turning Point USA and a popular figure on the American right—and experts on extremism are similarly baffled by the possible motivations.—
Richard Hall,
Time,
13 Sep. 2025
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The result is a set of policies that has baffled some China experts, or at least raised questions about the president’s stance on America’s friendly rival.—
Christian Datoc,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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An increasing number of boys are lonely, isolated and confused, wrestling with the aftermath of the #MeToo movement and the expectations of rigid masculinity, which has been widely characterized as toxic.—
Don Riddell,
CNN Money,
13 Sep. 2025
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The young men in Bruins blue and gold staggering off the field afterwards dazed, confused.—
Mirjam Swanson,
Oc Register,
13 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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The argument escalated into a physical brawl, with Lomax and Grossman wrestling on the ground in front of stunned festival staff and musicians.—
Jordan Runtagh,
PEOPLE,
10 Sep. 2025
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Sure, shooting someone in the chest eventually does the job, but is it rewarded as well as a headshot, bear trap to the torso, or kicking someone’s face off when they’re stunned on the floor?—
Matt Gardner,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Travelers fixate on aviation flight safety, but the real threats are on the ground — from escalator accidents and fake Wi-Fi to distracted walking and theft.—
Christopher Elliott,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
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However, Garraty runs back and convinces his friend to walk a little further with him before taking advantage of McVries' distracted state to do what McVries had planned to do for him.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Befuddled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/befuddled. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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