befuddle

[bih-fuhd-l]

verb (used with object)

befuddled, befuddling 

1. to confuse, as with glib statements or arguments.

   politicians befuddling the public with campaign promises.

   Synonyms: muddle, daze, baffle, bewilder, perplex

2. to make stupidly drunk.

befuddle

/ bɪˈfʌdəl /

verb

1. to confuse, muddle, or perplex

2. to make stupid with drink

Other Word Forms

• befuddler noun
• befuddlement noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of befuddle¹

First recorded in 1885–90; be- + fuddle

Example Sentences

Many of the most befuddling stocks reviewed by Barron’s are holding companies incorporated in the Cayman Islands or the British Virgin Islands with investors or subsidiaries that are also Caribbean holding companies.

Read more on Barron's

Not so much for the team he repeatedly befuddled.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

How, Tinubu quizzed his befuddled aides, had this idea reached the U.S. president?

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

What’s a bit befuddling is how “All Her Fault” introduces major elements of its characters’ backstories far later than seems fair on the part of the storytellers, or judicious on the part of the parents.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Cook was left befuddled, defeated - both feet pointing down the pitch.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• baffle 
• bewilder 
• daze 
• disorient 
• distract 
• dumbfound 
• fluster 
• intoxicate 
• muddle 
• puzzle 
• stupefy