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bewilder

[bih-wil-der]
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verb (used with object)

to confuse or puzzle completely; perplex: These shifting attitudes bewilder me.

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RELATED WORDS

mystify, confound, stump, perplex, rattle, befuddle, puzzle, bemuse, upset, distract, baffle, daze, stupefy, fluster, disconcert, snow, floor, throw, muddle, addle

Nearby words

  1. bewick,
  2. bewick's swan,
  3. bewick, thomas,
  4. bewig,
  5. bewigged,
  6. bewildered,
  7. bewildering,
  8. bewilderment,
  9. bewitch,
  10. bewitched

Origin of bewilder

First recorded in 1675–85; be- + wilder1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bewilder

British Dictionary definitions for bewilder

bewilder

verb (tr)

to confuse utterly; puzzle
archaic to cause to become lost
Derived Formsbewilderment, noun

Word Origin for bewilder

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

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper