befuddle

[ bih-fuhd-l ]

/ bɪˈfʌd l /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR befuddle 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.

Nearby words

before you know it, beforehand, beforetime, befoul, befriend, befuddle, beg, beg off, beg the question, beg to differ, beg, borrow, or steal

Origin of befuddle

First recorded in 1885–90; be- + fuddle

SYNONYMS FOR befuddle

1 perplex, bewilder, baffle, daze, muddle.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR befuddle ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for befuddlement

One former Media Research Center employee reacted to the news with a deep sense of befuddlement, “I thought everyone knew it.”
Ex-Employees of Conservative Figure L. Brent Bozell Say He Didn’t Write His Books or Columns|Ben Jacobs|February 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Still, I have heard more than a few people, of all races, shrug in some kind of befuddlement about what they are expected to feel.
South Africa Kicks Off Week Of Mourning Mandela|Mark Gevisser|December 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
This state of affairs is a source of befuddlement to Walmart executives.
Sad Face at Walmart|Daniel Gross|May 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
She had only added to his befuddlement and he bent forward, soliciting some more lucid statement of her position.
A Hoosier Chronicle|Meredith Nicholson

The befuddlement of Antoine and the waiter who assisted him added to the general joy.
Lady Larkspur|Meredith Nicholson
But their befuddlement was only a tithe of that which struck Cleigh an hour later.
The Pagan Madonna|Harold MacGrath

British Dictionary definitions for befuddlement

befuddle

/ (bɪˈfʌdəl) /

verb (tr)

to confuse, muddle, or perplex

to make stupid with drink

Derived Forms

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