Synonyms of befuddled

befuddled 1 of 2

adjective

bi-ˈfə-dᵊld 

as in bewildered

suffering from mental confusion

the perennially befuddled professor was always forgetting where she'd left her glasses

Synonyms & Similar Words

• bewildered
• dazed
• confused
• stunned
• distracted
• dizzy
• bemused
• silly
• stupefied
• out of it
• muddleheaded
• fogged
• dopey
• confounded
• addled
• punch-drunk
• bedeviled
• shell-shocked
• mixed-up
• raddled
• at sea
• befogged
• pixilated
• slaphappy
• punchy
• spacey
• addle
• muzzy
• unconscious
• zonked-out
• bushed
• addlepated
• zonked
• spaced-out
• senseless

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• conscious
• clearheaded
• alert

befuddled

2 of 2

verb

past tense of befuddle

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• baffled
• puzzled
• bewildered
• confused
• perplexed
• flummoxed
• embarrassed
• mystified
• stunned
• bemused
• disoriented
• discombobulated
• vexed
• flustered
• confounded
• bamboozled
• muddled
• fuddled
• rattled
• addled
• disturbed
• bothered
• posed
• upset
• mazed
• muddied
• befogged
• foxed
• buffaloed
• graveled
• got
• unsettled
• beat
• stumped
• nonplussed
• disconcerted
• stuck
• blew one's mind
• mortified
• discomfited
• agitated
• dismayed
• distressed
• abashed
• went to one's head
• perturbed
• disquieted
• chagrined
• fazed
• weirded out
• discomforted
• deceived
• unhinged
• misled
• deluded
• misguided
• duped
• fooled
• discomposed
• discountenanced
• beguiled
• tricked
• hoodwinked
• humbugged
• strung along
• gulled
• cozened
• snowed
• took in
• hoaxed

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• satisfied
• assured
• informed
• reassured
• enlightened

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of befuddled

Adjective

The befuddled host is left to shake his head as the trio wander off. — Tom Tapp, Deadline, 24 Mar. 2026

The Tea Party sprang out of the grass roots and roared at befuddled Congressional representatives in town halls across the country. — Literary Hub, 23 Mar. 2026

Verb

Hardly ten more minutes had passed before Dembélé scored again—this time, cutting inside and stuttering his dribble and then, having befuddled the defense, rolling the ball right past it into an open corner of the goal. — Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 27 June 2026

And, of course, onstage in his act, in which the 47-year-old comedian from Old Hickory, Tennessee, adopts the persona of a middle-aged everyschlub befuddled by modern life and expectations of basic competence. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 28 May 2026