dumbfound
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
- dumbfounderment noun
- dumfounderment noun
Etymology
Origin of dumbfound
First recorded in 1645–55; dumb + (con)found
Explanation
The verb dumbfound means to puzzle, mystify, or amaze. If people never expected you to amount to much in high school, but you grew up to be a rocket scientist, you will surely dumbfound your former classmates at your next reunion. The word dumbfound is a combination of the words dumb and confound. Dumb, in the original sense, means unable to speak. Confound is from the Latin word confundere, which means to mix together as well as to confuse. Thus the blended word dumbfound has the sense of to confuse to the point of speechlessness. If you see a solar eclipse for the first time, it might dumbfound you.
Vocabulary lists containing dumbfound
In a Pickle: Words for When You're in Trouble
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The "Thwarted" Thesaurus: words about being frustrated at every turn
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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.
Any other result but a four or five nil win for the Gunners would be catastrophic for Arsenal and dumbfound us all.
From BBC • Mar. 3, 2024
It will defy assumption after assumption, dazzle and dumbfound, stun and stir, swerve and swerve back almost as if cackling.
From Washington Post • Dec. 18, 2022
Lavelle’s ability to dumbfound defenses will be crucial to the U.S. team’s play for the next four years and beyond.
From Slate • Jul. 7, 2019
Like a telepathic infant swinging for the piñata with deathly precision, Chelsea has continued to dumbfound with its ability to overcome seemingly impossible tasks.
From New York Times • May 17, 2012
That, he assured his imperial brother, would amaze and dumbfound the entire universe more than anything else that could possibly be conceived.
From The Secret Memoirs of the Courts of Europe: William II, Germany; Francis Joseph, Austria-Hungary, Volume I. (of 2) by Fontenoy, Mme. la Marquise de
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.
