bewilder
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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to confuse utterly; puzzle
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archaic to cause to become lost
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of bewilder
Explanation
To bewilder is to amaze, baffle, dumbfound, flummox, perplex, or stupefy. When you bewilder people, you confuse them. Bewilder is a fun-sounding word for confusion-causing. A complicated math problem will bewilder many students. A magician's tricks should bewilder the audience. Mystery stories should be a little bewildering, at least until the end. Sometimes, being bewildered has a more emotional element. If someone you know died in a freak accident, that would bewilder you in a very sad way.
Vocabulary lists containing bewilder
List 3
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I'm Not So Sure...
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Novel Study: The Outsiders, Chapters 1–5
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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.
Essential to a wilderness is its capacity to bewilder, and though certain of Church’s colleagues in the Hudson River group, notably Worthington Whittredge, brilliantly captured this dense, enfolding quality, Church seldom did.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
If the soul of Leif Erikson were to materialize inside his statue for a day, much of what he saw would bewilder him.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 13, 2023
The real world may initially bewilder Barbie, but she figures it out.
From New York Times • Jul. 18, 2023
Figuring out what metrics make a streaming show successful can bewilder fans.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 14, 2023
Bond market terminology was designed less to convey meaning than to bewilder outsiders.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
