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bewilder

[bih-wil-der]
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verb (used with object)
  1. to confuse or puzzle completely; perplex: These shifting attitudes bewilder me.
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Origin of bewilder

First recorded in 1675–85; be- + wilder1

Synonyms

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mystify, nonplus, confuse, daze, confound, stagger, muddle.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

mystifyconfoundstumpperplexrattlebefuddlepuzzlebemuseupsetdistractbaffledazestupefyflusterdisconcertsnowfloorthrowmuddleaddle

Examples from the Web for bewilder

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Now it assembles the blossoms of a whole long year to bewilder and allure.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • It is only the artificial and the complex that bewilder them.

    The Gorgon's Head

    Nathaniel Hawthorne

  • She was sufficiently unlike the usual Miss Ffrench to bewilder any one.

    The Flying Mercury

    Eleanor M. Ingram

  • They bewilder us, but they fail to make a solemn impression.

  • Certainly it was enough to bewilder any man, and Paul was utterly dazed.

    Caught In The Net

    Emile Gaboriau

British Dictionary definitions for bewilder

bewilder

verb (tr)
  1. to confuse utterly; puzzle
  2. archaic to cause to become lost
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Derived Formsbewilderment, noun

Word Origin

C17: see be-, wilder
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 bewilder

v.

1680s, from be- "thoroughly" + archaic wilder "lead astray, lure into the wilds," probably a back-formation of wilderness. An earlier word with the same sense was bewhape (early 14c.). Related: Bewildered; bewildering; bewilderingly.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper