as in bewildered
suffering from mental confusion
new federal regulations that the easily bemused should make no attempt to read and understand
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in intrigued
to hold the attention of
a public that seemed more bemused by the shenanigans of celebrities than by a war being waged half a world away
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in puzzled
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
the stage mishap momentarily bemused the actress
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bemused
Chris Willman, Variety, 28 Mar. 2026
Chris Robinson is a bit bemused at the idea of a column being dedicated to legacy musicians, even if his own band, the Black Crowes, released their swaggering debut album 36 years ago and are now eligible for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
—Devon Ivie, Vulture, 19 Mar. 2026
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026
Needless to say, Ben Shelton (who ended up winning the men’s event) and his opponent Karen Khachanov were bemused by the interruption.
—Max Gao, Vogue, 25 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bemused
Adjective
That was John’s thing, back then, but leave it to both Beatles to have a bemused sense of class consciousness.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 28 Mar. 2026
Chris Robinson is a bit bemused at the idea of a column being dedicated to legacy musicians, even if his own band, the Black Crowes, released their swaggering debut album 36 years ago and are now eligible for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
—Devon Ivie, Vulture, 19 Mar. 2026
Verb
Bayern’s players were also bemused by the decision not to award a very late spot kick to them for handball.
—Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026
Needless to say, Ben Shelton (who ended up winning the men’s event) and his opponent Karen Khachanov were bemused by the interruption.
—Max Gao, Vogue, 25 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bemused
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bemused
Adjective
-
At the risk of sounding less like a columnist and more like a bewildered bystander … what the heck happened?—
Denise Crosby,
Chicago Tribune,
14 June 2026
-
Urged by a call from Hugo to destroy her phone and flee Kansas City fast, before WARDEX can get to her, Margaret also hits the road, accompanied initially by a bewildered Jackson.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
9 June 2026
Verb
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Non-JoJo Siwa Cruise attendees seemed intrigued by the events, from what Johnson saw.—
Nathan Diller,
USA Today,
18 June 2026
-
When Blue Ruby’s Yuba County property came on the market, the Ladeiras were intrigued.—
Sean Timberlake,
Sacbee.com,
17 June 2026
Verb
-
County officials said they are puzzled by the cost increase in the face of falling ridership for Access Lynx, which provides door-to-door transportation for disabled and low-income riders countywide.—
Martin E. Comas,
The Orlando Sentinel,
20 June 2026
-
But after feeding the information into a computer model, the team was puzzled.—
Jeanna Bryner,
Scientific American,
18 June 2026
Adjective
-
Humans of all ages, in fact, stare dazed into glowing screens.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
19 June 2026
-
Rapkin, truth be told, looked a little dazed.—
Victoria Gomelsky,
Robb Report,
17 June 2026
Verb
-
What interested him was the gap between the performance of power and whatever lives underneath it.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
15 June 2026
-
That’s a cheap and easy analogy, but that’s what interested me to want to make this show.—
Lynette Rice,
Deadline,
9 June 2026
Verb
-
They were equally baffled by the aggressive flavorlessness of a Michelob Ultra.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
13 June 2026
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New York Knicks radio broadcaster Tyler Murray was baffled Wednesday night.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
11 June 2026
Adjective
-
But then, the writer himself might get confused about which is which.—
Cressida Leyshon,
New Yorker,
21 June 2026
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For example, a lot of fans were a bit confused on Friday after watching Miguel Almiron be sent off in the first half of Paraguay’s win against Turkey.—
Ben Church,
CNN Money,
21 June 2026
Verb
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About 60 of the items on the list were lifelong dreams or adventures that had always fascinated him.—
Jordan Greene,
PEOPLE,
17 June 2026
-
Part of what fascinated me about their presentation was not only their refusal to kowtow to male desire, which for decades had a stranglehold on rock aesthetics, but a concomitant disavowal of commercialism.—
Amanda Petrusich,
New Yorker,
15 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bemused.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bemused. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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