bemuse
[ bih-myooz ]
/ bɪˈmyuz /
|
verb (used with object), be·mused, be·mus·ing.
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.
Nearby words
Related formsbe·muse·ment, noun
Usage note
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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for bemusing
The strange perfume of it still hung about him, bemusing his heart and mind.
Three John Silence Stories|Algernon BlackwoodShe is, by long odds, the most intelligent and bemusing of women.
Damn!|Henry Louis Mencken
British Dictionary definitions for bemusing
bemuse
/ (bɪˈmjuːz) /
verb
(tr) to confuse; bewilder
Derived Formsbemusement, nounbemusing, adjective
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
Word Origin and History for bemusing
bemuse
"to make utterly confused," from be- + muse (cf. amuse); attested from 1735 but probably older, as Pope (1705) punned on it as "devoted utterly to the Muses."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper