dumbfounded

American  

[duhm-foun-did, duhm-foun-] / dʌmˈfaʊn dɪd, ˈdʌmˌfaʊn- /

Or dumfounded

adjective

1. speechless with amazement; astonished or showing astonishment.

   I smiled at the dumbfounded look on their faces as their eyes widened and their mouths fell slack.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of dumbfound.

Etymology

Origin of dumbfounded

dumbfound ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

Huckabee, however, appeared dumbfounded: “I’m totally unable to process what you’re trying to get at.”

From Slate • Feb. 25, 2026

American skater Nathan Chen, the Beijing men's individual gold medallist, was dumbfounded, saying: "What a shock".

From Barron's • Feb. 14, 2026

He said the volatility in recent weeks has left him and other investors feeling “awestruck and dumbfounded at times.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026

“Whether owing to that striking optimism or some other loftier force at work,” said family member Gregory Small, she had survived with pancreatic cancer for 12 years, a feat that left her doctors dumbfounded.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 6, 2025

“We all just sat there dumbfounded, like: ‘Oh, my gosh, that could’ve been our kid,”’ Clark says, looking back.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel