bamboozled

adjective

bam·​boo·​zled bam-ˈbü-zəld How to pronounce bamboozled (audio)
informal
: thrown into a state of confusion or bewilderment especially by being deliberately fooled or misled
Some consumers are so bamboozled by slick sales talk that they pay extra for amazingly bad deals.Mike McClintock
I had him so bamboozled he didn't know which way was up.Jerry Spinelli

Examples of bamboozled in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Everything about this was textbook: the scanning before receiving between the lines, the skip away from the defender, the swerving, looping strike that bamboozled goalkeeper Katherine Tapia, who could do nothing but sink slowly backwards to the ground. Richard Amofa, The Athletic, 21 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1866, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bamboozled was in 1866

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Cite this Entry

“Bamboozled.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bamboozled. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.

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