befuddle

[ bih-fuhd-l ]

/ bɪˈfʌd l /

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See synonyms for: befuddle / befuddled / befuddles / befuddling on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), be·fud·dled, be·fud·dling.

to confuse, as with glib statements or arguments: politicians befuddling the public with campaign promises.

to make stupidly drunk.

OTHER WORDS FOR befuddle

1 perplex, bewilder, baffle, daze, muddle.

See synonyms for befuddle on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of befuddle

First recorded in 1885–90; be- + fuddle

OTHER WORDS FROM befuddle

be·fud·dler, nounbe·fud·dle·ment, noun

Words nearby befuddle

beforetime, before you can say Jack Robinson, before you know it, befoul, befriend, befuddle, befuddled, beg, begad, began, begar

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use befuddle in a sentence

A next step is establishing a baseline, indicating whether a standard deep-learning neural net would get befuddled by such a task.
Geoffrey Hinton has a hunch about what’s next for AI|Siobhan Roberts|April 16, 2021|MIT Technology Review
Yet the Water Authority’s own forecasts paint a different picture, showing an increased water demand decades into the future, which befuddled local agencies.
Water Authority Didn’t Always Take Pure Water Project Seriously, Emails Show|MacKenzie Elmer|February 17, 2021|Voice of San Diego
Coach Sean McVay and quarterback Jared Goff were befuddled on that evening by the defensive scheming of Coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots as the Rams lost, 13-3.
Cam Newton’s struggles continue as Patriots’ postseason hopes plummet with loss to Rams|Mark Maske|December 11, 2020|Washington Post
I suspect this will buoy liberal spirits, but anger the right and befuddle the independents.
Daily Beast Contributors Weigh In on Obama’s 2012 State of the Union Address||January 25, 2012|DAILY BEAST

These Roman nights, with their garlic and incense, are apt to befuddle the brain,—rob it of its power to plot.
Under the Witches' Moon|Nathan Gallizier
There was no necessity now for tricks to further befuddle the demoralized cadets.
Bert Wilson on the Gridiron|J. W. Duffield
Really, Mr. Ward, the writer who cannot sufficiently befuddle himself and his readers in fifty pages is not very skilful.
Buchanan's Journal of Man, July 1887|Various
But when an artist tells them of recondite principles in æsthetics they accuse him of an endeavour to befuddle them.
Modern Painting, Its Tendency and Meaning|Willard Huntington Wright
He had been drinking alcolite; not enough to befuddle him, but enough to make him triumphantly talkative.
Brigands of the Moon|Ray Cummings

British Dictionary definitions for befuddle

befuddle

/ (bɪˈfʌdəl) /

verb (tr)

to confuse, muddle, or perplex

to make stupid with drink

Derived forms of befuddle

befuddlement, noun

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

befuddle

OTHER WORDS FOR befuddle

Origin of befuddle

OTHER WORDS FROM befuddle

Words nearby befuddle

Words related to befuddle

How to use befuddle in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for befuddle

Derived forms of befuddle