bamboozled
Americanadjective
-
deceived through trickery, flattery, or the like; hoodwinked.
He feels there’s been a cover-up by the manufacturer and it’s his duty to bring it to the attention of a bamboozled public.
-
perplexed, mystified, or confused.
I must have had a very bamboozled look on my face, because she gave me an impatient "What’s your problem, lady?"
verb
Etymology
Origin of bamboozled
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.
Young adults aren’t confused or bamboozled by the risks they’re taking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025
An image of James McFadden with the ball hanging in the Parisian air and a bamboozled Mickael Landreau somewhere in the distance.
From BBC ● Nov. 18, 2025
And some are genuinely bamboozled by what is going on - is it tension between McSweeney and the minister Darren Jones, now Starmer's right-hand man?
From BBC ● Nov. 15, 2025
He has a well-earned reputation among journalists as a perpetual skeptic, someone who refuses to be bamboozled by hype, cope, spin, and anything in between.
From Slate ● Nov. 5, 2025
He’d either bamboozled me or had a little fun, neither of which was the outcome I’d hoped for.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
