bemuse
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to bewilder or confuse.
-
to preoccupy; engross.
-
to cause to be mildly amused, especially in a detached way.
Apparently bemused by his critics, he floated above the clamor surrounding the campaign.
verb
Commonly Confused
The verb bemuse (usually as the adjective bemused ) is similar in sound to amuse , and has in fact taken on the meaning "to cause to be mildly amused." Many usage experts and traditionalists consider this a misuse of bemuse , pointing out that its proper meaning is “to bewilder or confuse.” However, the history and use of bemuse has shown that its meaning is often ambiguous. It's often the case that one's feelings are a combination of bewilderment and amusement: Their customs bemuse most Americans. Even when it clearly means "to bewilder or confuse," bemuse usually retains a lighthearted tone: one would not typically say: I was bemused by his motive for the murder.
Other Word Forms
- bemusement noun
- bemusing adjective
Etymology
Origin of bemuse
Explanation
To bemuse is to confuse or puzzle. You could bemuse your teacher by writing an essay as a series of haikus, but don’t. Usually a bemused teacher is not a happy one. Bemuse is not the same as amuse, which means to entertain someone or make them laugh. If you tell a joke, you don’t want to bemuse your audience because they won’t laugh, they’ll be too busy trying figure out what you just said. New situations and weird dreams bemuse some people, so they feel dazed and bemused.
Vocabulary lists containing bemuse
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Uglies
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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.
Today, Troll Haven still stands sentry on the Olympic Peninsula — just as Bandy’s Southern California castles continue to amuse and bemuse Burbank residents and workers.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 8, 2023
Her response is to clam up, presenting “a terminal face—nothing in it, nothing behind it, a well-turned-out nothing” that “I thought would bemuse the gossips, confound them.”
From The New Yorker • Dec. 3, 2018
The likes of Danny Drinkwater and Ross Barkley, players whose presence at Chelsea appears to bemuse their boss, seem likely to be given a low-key chance to shine against Championship strugglers.
From The Guardian • Feb. 16, 2018
Still, the story of Stephen and Natasha Spender retains its power to shock and bemuse.
From Washington Post • Nov. 4, 2015
These riddles, pierced with blind Gleams of foreboding, but bemuse my mind.
From The Agamemnon of Aeschylus Translated into English Rhyming Verse with Explanatory Notes by Murray, Gilbert
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.
