bewildering 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of bewilderingnext
as in perplexing

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Dissimilar Words

bewildering

2 of 2

verb

present participle of bewilder
as in baffling
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty the change in policy seems to have bewildered many of our customers

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 bewildering
Adjective
Here, clouds of stars and dark interstellar dust combine in a bewildering array as seen in binoculars and telescopes. — Joe Rao, Space.com, 26 June 2026 Trump’s proposal for a National Garden of American Heroes, where visitors could commune with statues of 250 historic figures, is simply bewildering. — Yoni Appelbaum, The Atlantic, 8 June 2026
Verb
There aren’t many ways to earn a club’s first win better than bewildering the league’s defending champions at their place. — Braidon Nourse, Denver Post, 26 Mar. 2026 McNutt housed some 700 kids — about one-third of the population of French Lick — and Bird found the campus outside the dormitory walls bewildering. — Keith O'Brien, Rolling Stone, 22 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for bewildering
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bewildering
  1. perplexing
  2. baffling
  3. confusing
  4. puzzling
  5. confounding
  6. muddled
  7. frustrating
  8. disorganized
Adjective
  • The second surprising ingredient was the most perplexing to me.
    — Josh Miller, Southern Living, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Despite a relatively long history of drive-through bans, the idea is still novel and perplexing to Californians who love their burgers and love their cars.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2026
Definition of perplexing
Verb
  • Despite some protests about a dog contributing to the game, Buddy — clad in a bright blue jersey and two pairs of basketball kicks — scores baffling basket after baffling basket, leaving the other team shocked.
    — Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 27 July 2026
  • While Loathe’s baffling compositional choices may jump out first, the album’s most glaring flaw is its production.
    — Patrick Lyons, Pitchfork, 16 July 2026
Definition of baffling
Adjective
  • Your husband’s abandonment was surely jarring, painful, and confusing.
    — R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Your husband’s abandonment was surely jarring, painful and confusing.
    — R. Eric Thomas, Mercury News, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of confusing
Verb
  • In practice, puzzling choices by curators Klaus Biesenbach and Maike Steinkamp rendered the experiment fraught in places.
    — Ara H. Merjian, ARTnews.com, 16 Aug. 2026
  • The encyclical’s critique of military AI is similarly puzzling.
    — Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of puzzling
Adjective
  • Grief is one of the most confounding aspects of the human experience.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 17 Apr. 2026
  • In 2021, one year into D’Amaro’s tenure and following COVID shutdowns, Disney did away with FastPass and introduced a confounding and very costly series of pay-to-skip passes, which require timing advanced booking of limited slots in these formerly free-to-enter shorter lines.
    — Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 5 Feb. 2026
Definition of confounding
Adjective
  • But because decomposing food is a source of ammonia, the source of any emissions remains muddled, regulators said.
    — Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2026
  • In the summer of 1991, a group of conspirators staged a muddled coup to overthrow then-USSR president Mikhail Gorbachev, ultimately accelerating the shift from communism to capitalism.
    — Jake Angelo, semafor.com, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of muddled
Adjective
  • Summary Many professionals discover their most impactful career lessons often come from demanding, even frustrating, bosses.
    — Mark Nevins, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Senate Bill 29 directly confronted the most frustrating aspect of Election Day, ballot questions.
    — Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of frustrating
Adjective
  • Meanwhile, Invest 94, the tropical wave with disorganized showers and thunderstorms in the eastern Atlantic, was located more than 1,000 miles west of Africa’s Cape Verde Islands on Saturday.
    — Richard Tribou, Sun Sentinel, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Right behind it, and now Invest 94, is a tropical wave located several hundred miles southwest of the Cape Verde Islands with disorganized showers and thunderstorms.
    — Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of disorganized

Browse Nearby Words

bewilderedness
bewildering
bewilderment
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Cite this Entry

“Bewildering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bewildering. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on bewildering

Nglish: Translation of bewildering for Spanish Speakers

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