bemusement

Definition of bemusementnext

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bemusement Erika looks on with the malevolent bemusement of a college cheerleader coming back to homecoming to judge her old high school squad. Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 24 Aug. 2026 Just across the street from the Golf Course Terrace home, a few Bermuda grass lawns had actual weeds sprouting up — a source of bemusement for the homeowner. Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 18 Aug. 2026 But there was a kind of bemusement with our fascination with the Wild West and our fixation on cowboys, and a sense that America has gone off the rails. Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2026 While not a good show by any stretch of the imagination — and there are many stretches to be made here — the Netflix series does manage to conjure so-bad-its-good bemusement. Ben Travers, IndieWire, 18 June 2026 The Professional can certainly be understood as a nonlinear narrative of an artist on the peripheries of music, navigating a world far from home with equal parts amusement and bemusement. Levi Dayan, Pitchfork, 9 June 2026 To friends and strangers alike, our unusual authorly posture—two spouses, both with academic backgrounds but neither presently working in academia, teaming up to write a trade book on a literary subject—is a source of bemusement. Literary Hub, 2 June 2026 Originally greeted with bemusement, Pratt is now upending the race with early voting underway ahead of the June 2 election. Jonathan J. Cooper, Fortune, 13 May 2026 He was given considerable access to the behind-the-scenes activities of the show’s production and to many of its stars and staff, none of whom have much to say beyond expressing bemusement at some of Michaels’ personal quirks and habits or praise for his taste in comedy. Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, 21 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bemusement
Noun
  • The third round of Premier League matches brought yet more controversy, including an unpunished kick to the head in a London derby and confusion around a goal disallowed for handball.
    Graham Scott, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • In a work so dense with references, mistakes will sprout like crabgrass; write a big book on André Le Nôtre’s formal gardens and the earthworm experts will gather to deride your confusion.
    Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Passive nets retain practical advantage Passive fog nets have operated in the same desert for years without using electricity.
    Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 4 Sep. 2026
  • The Great Smoky Mountains that trail up the border between Tennessee and North Carolina earned their name from the natural, gauzy fog that often drapes across the region.
    Megan Wahn, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • After an exceptionally long pause, during which Affleck looked around the room in bewilderment, a drum roll signaled their victory.
    Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 30 July 2026
  • Researchers who received the letter from AHRQ Director Roger Klein expressed bewilderment because much of their work has the same objectives that Klein highlighted as the agency’s current priorities.
    Arthur Allen, Miami Herald, 30 July 2026
Noun
  • Bartiromo’s former colleagues and friends talked about her MAGA transformation with bafflement and disappointment.
    Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Elliott was also mispegged as a folk singer during his lifetime, to his own bafflement; his music has a pop architecture that runs deep, and an architecture that goes deeper than that is purely, idiosyncratically Elliott.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bemusement.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bemusement. Accessed 11 Sep. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster