befuddle
Americanverb (used with object)
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befuddles,
present (3rd person singular)
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befuddled,
past participle, past
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befuddling
present participle
verb
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to confuse, muddle, or perplex
-
to make stupid with drink
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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befuddlesimple
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befuddlessimple
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have befuddledperfect
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has befuddledperfect
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am befuddlingprogressive
-
are befuddlingprogressive
-
is befuddlingprogressive
-
have been befuddlingperfect progressive
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has been befuddlingperfect progressive
Past
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befuddledsimple
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had befuddledperfect
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was befuddlingprogressive
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were befuddlingprogressive
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had been befuddlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of befuddle
Explanation
To befuddle is to confuse. A sticky exam question can befuddle you, or an awkward question about your whereabouts the night before (how can you remember? You were befuddled, after all.) In sixteenth century Britain a popular thing to do (about the only thing to do) after the hogs had been fed and the chickens put away for the night was fuddle — in other words get pretty drunk. Befuddled was simply the confused state too many pots of mead put your poor brain in, and that's still its basic meaning today. Nowadays, befuddle has a more general meaning of confusion and uncertainty not necessarily caused by too much booze.
Vocabulary lists containing befuddle
Smoke and Mirrors: The Lingo of Illusion and Deception
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "B"
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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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.
See Examples For:
Today’s pitchers befuddle hitters with velocity and spin rate while exiting before 100 pitches.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
After a quick run-up, Panenka floated a delicate chip down the middle to befuddle goalkeeper Sepp Maier and win the trophy for Czechoslovakia.
From BBC ● Jan. 19, 2026
Even in the sunlight, the shadows and glare can befuddle landing cameras and sensors.
From National Geographic ● Jan. 8, 2024
Bear's journey home takes a detour partly guided by Goldtooth's spirit, whose main purpose is to frustrate and befuddle those unlucky enough to see him.
From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2023
It had been work, exhilarating but exhausting all the same, constantly having to befuddle building supers and bellhops and nosy neighbors just for a place to sleep.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
It still befuddles me whenever I think of it, but why the heck is bacon packaging so incredibly un-user-friendly?
From Salon ● Jan. 14, 2023
Sauerkraut fish soup has been popular in southwest China and in other parts of Asia since the 1990s, but the English translation of “sauerkraut fish” befuddles some western diners.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 5, 2022
“Something better” is a mind-set that befuddles many first-time buyers.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 20, 2022
Much of what befuddles in “The Green Knight” is of the “What did I just see?” variety.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2021
Grape-growers are not in the fog that befuddles growers of tree-fruits in regard to tillage.
From Manual of American Grape-Growing by U. P. Hedrick
“There’s a beetle that emerges on the cusp of summer. It has lots of colors. Blue, gold, purple. It looks like a turtle,” she tells a befuddled Rhaenyra.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026
But the question of where Laufey sits in the pantheon of popular music has befuddled critics ever since.
From BBC ● May 2, 2026
Bryan Cranston transitioned from befuddled dad Hal to lethal drug lord Walter White in “Breaking Bad.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026
One zoomer Republican operative in Washington was befuddled at how Butterworth’s had become such a destination: “A bunch of conservatives just decided it would be our place and I don’t understand why.”
From Slate ● Mar. 10, 2026
The music crashed to a stop and he turned a befuddled glare toward the audience.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
The film — where Jessie Buckley plays three characters, each with their own frenzied personality — may be tonally imbalanced and, at times, utterly befuddling.
From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2026
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.
From Barron's ● Nov. 18, 2025
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.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2025
After getting outclassed for an hour and trailing 1-0 when by rights it should have been two or three, how did Scotland win this monumentally befuddling World Cup qualifier 3-1?
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2025
He cocked his head, tapping his lower lip as though he found the concept absolutely befuddling.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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.
