befuddled
Americanadjective
-
confused or muddled.
They claim this is the prevailing economic theory, taught in the best schools, and that I am a hopelessly befuddled fool for questioning it.
-
puzzled or perplexed.
People often ask us—usually with a befuddled look on their face—"Why on earth are you doing this?"
-
stupidly drunk.
I don't think he's sobered up at all—in fact, he looks almost frighteningly befuddled and out of it.
verb
Etymology
Origin of befuddled
First recorded in 1830–40; befuddle + -ed 2 ( def. ) for the adjective senses; befuddle + -ed 1 ( def. ) for the verb sense
Explanation
When you're befuddled, you're bewildered, confused, lost, or mixed-up. In other words, you don't know what's going on. A befuddled person is so confused that they just can't understand or figure something out. Or they've had way too much to drink. A difficult math problem could leave you befuddled. If your teacher showed up in a gorilla suit one day, you'd probably be pretty befuddled. Things that are vague and perplexing can also be described as befuddled, like a speech that makes no sense.
Vocabulary lists containing befuddled
The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 7
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Grade 9, List 5
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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.
An investor employing cold logic like a Vulcan in “Star Trek” would be befuddled by what he is currently seeing.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026
“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
With a voice at times bitter, befuddled and bemused at his own wrecked life, Busby emerges as a self-aware, sympathetic survivor who knew his best work came at the beginning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Russell’s befuddled Jackson is as useless as a traffic cone but Blunt’s Margaret is a gas before the movie makes her go all glassy-eyed and solemn.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026
He wore a befuddled expression and sputtered at his bloodied nightshirt.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
