bemused

adjective

be·mused | \ bi-ˈmyüzd

, bē- \

Definition of bemused

1 : marked by confusion or bewilderment : dazed … he was fumbling with the sheets, and looking down at them with a slightly bemused expression as though the stuff before him was in a foreign language …— Robert Penn Warren

2 : lost in thought or reverie … as distant and bemused as a Professor Emeritus listening to the prattling of his freshman class.— Michael Straight

3 : having or showing feelings of wry amusement especially from something that is surprising or perplexing This is not another of those now popular books about a bemused outsider's sojourn in rural France, brimming with colorful locals and heart-warming anecdotes.— J. D. McClatchy

Other Words from bemused Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More About bemused

Other Words from bemused

bemusedly \ bi-ˈmyü-zəd-lē

, bē- \ adverb

Harry looked bemusedly at the photograph Colin was brandishing under his nose. — J. K. Rowling

Examples of bemused in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web This makes for a series of pratfalls and obscenities, with the impassive Patrick just kind of standing there, seemingly bemused. — Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 19 July 2022 On the whole, however, the humor is more bemused smirk than belly laugh. — Katie Rife, Rolling Stone, 5 Aug. 2022 The bands played to empty fields or bemused villagers. — Vic Chiang, Washington Post, 26 July 2022 When Spacey left the Old Bailey about 30 minutes following the hearing to get into a waiting car, a larger crowd was outside, including several bemused members of the public who just happened to be passing by. — Alex Ritman, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 July 2022 Give me ladies in day hats with drinking problems all day long, yelling at their bemused and thematically underdeveloped husbands. — Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 10 June 2022 If Season One was a promising first draft, its follow-up was a polished, ready-to-sell manuscript, with a bemused yet affectionate focus on the testy mother-daughter, mentor-protegee relationship between Deborah and Ava. — Inkoo Kang, Washington Post, 1 July 2022 The bitter and bemused notes that still make reading the literature of polar exploration so bracing derive from the scale of the explorers’ previous expectations. — Adam Gopnik, Town & Country, 17 June 2022 Instead, Shields was left to measure the aspirations and achievements of later generations of political figures, typically couching his views with bemused sense of humor, brushed with the disappointment of reality. — Matt Schudel, BostonGlobe.com, 18 June 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bemused.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.