Synonyms

bewilder

American

[bih-wil-der] / bɪˈwɪl dər /

verb (used with object)

to confuse or puzzle completely; perplex.

These shifting attitudes bewilder me.

Synonyms:

muddle, stagger, confound, daze, confuse, nonplus, mystify

bewilder British

/ bɪˈwɪldə /

verb

to confuse utterly; puzzle
archaic to cause to become lost

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

bewilderment

noun

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of bewilder

First recorded in 1675–85; be- + wilder ¹

Explanation

To bewilder is to amaze, baffle, dumbfound, flummox, perplex, or stupefy. When you bewilder people, you confuse them. Bewilder is a fun-sounding word for confusion-causing. A complicated math problem will bewilder many students. A magician's tricks should bewilder the audience. Mystery stories should be a little bewildering, at least until the end. Sometimes, being bewildered has a more emotional element. If someone you know died in a freak accident, that would bewilder you in a very sad way.

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Vocabulary lists containing bewilder

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Bewilder his judgment they might with their glosses upon commandment and observance; but they could not keep his heart from gladness; and, being glad, whom should he praise but God?

From Miracles of Our Lord by MacDonald, George

Bewilder, be-wil′dėr, v.t. to perplex or lead astray.—p.adj.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various

Do the arts of hell, which on the field Wrought such disastrous ruin, even here Bewilder and befool us?

From Maid of Orleans by Schiller, Friedrich

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023