as in to bewilder
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
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Recent Examples of befuddle
If some readers were befuddled by Mr. Holland’s strange and magical imagery, graphic artists were entranced.
—
Penelope Green, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2025
The scientists who developed the original set of guidelines for REDs are also befuddled.
—Alex Hutchinson, Outside Online, 10 Mar. 2025
The decision to reconsider law firms appeared to befuddle a few board members in public meetings leading up to the decision.
—Skyler Swisher, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 Apr. 2025
Wall Street analysts have been befuddled by Trump’s vision of bringing manufacturing operations back to the US, something that would be extremely costly and take years if not decades to accomplish.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for befuddle
Penelope Green, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2025
The scientists who developed the original set of guidelines for REDs are also befuddled.
—Alex Hutchinson, Outside Online, 10 Mar. 2025
The decision to reconsider law firms appeared to befuddle a few board members in public meetings leading up to the decision.
—Skyler Swisher, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 Apr. 2025
Wall Street analysts have been befuddled by Trump’s vision of bringing manufacturing operations back to the US, something that would be extremely costly and take years if not decades to accomplish.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for befuddle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for befuddle
Verb
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They were bewildered for me, and so was all the other staff.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Apr. 2025
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Small wonder many of the migrants are disoriented and bewildered.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
22 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Many observers were perplexed that an eighty-two-year-old man with virtually unlimited access to medical care—and about whose health there has been virtually unlimited conjecture—could have gone undiagnosed until the cancer threatened his life.—
Dhruv Khullar,
New Yorker,
22 May 2025
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Social-media users were undoubtedly perplexed by the bone discovery, leading to more than 860 comments on the Instagram video.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 May 2025
Verb
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Also, this word et cetera at the end of the sentence confused me.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
26 May 2025
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Weir was confused by the man’s unusual conviction, though.—
Louise Erdrich,
New Yorker,
25 May 2025
Verb
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What’s more, the double-stitched seams and baffle box design keep lumps at bay.—
Nashia Baker,
Architectural Digest,
28 May 2025
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The owner shared a video of the car veering left, a video that has Tesla examiner’s baffled.—
Peter Lyon,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2025
Verb
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But very puzzling storytelling choices as well that diminish many of these characters, making Joel and Ellie feel less realized as people and less nuanced as characters, giving Dina and Ellie such a weird cheery vibe (when Dina isn’t mothering Ellie) and so forth.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2025
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In 1981, as otherwise healthy gay men started dying of unexpected cancers and infections, a government immunologist named Anthony Fauci pushed aside his other research to focus on the puzzling malady.—
Daniel Immerwahr,
New Yorker,
19 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Befuddle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/befuddle. Accessed 2 Jun. 2025.
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