BEFUDDLE Synonyms: 75 Similar and Opposite Words

befuddle

verb

bi-ˈfə-dᵊl

as in to bewilder

to throw into a state of mental uncertainty most of the applicants were befuddled by the wording of one of the questions on the driving test

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Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of befuddle Many applicants have received identical messages lately, befuddling students as well as lab heads who may be used to hearing about rejections but not a string of applications simply returned without review. —

Jonathan Wosen, STAT, 11 Feb. 2026 He was less intimidated by its befuddling organization and had grown accustomed to the antiquated spellings and the nearly illegible, unpunctuated scribblings of harried seventeenth-century officials. —

Literary Hub, 28 Jan. 2026 And any Rams fan who was around for that game probably remembers Dieter Brock, and the irony that the quarterback the Rams brought in from the Canadian Football League was befuddled by winds that reached up to 23 mph, to go with 36 degree temperatures and 26-degree wind chill. —

Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 17 Jan. 2026 Atlanta then declined to pick up Kinley’s option for 2026, which was a bit befuddling at the time. —

Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 16 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for befuddle

Recent Examples of Synonyms for befuddle

Verb

Now, many millions of Americans are bewildered by events.

— David French, Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2026
McNutt housed some 700 kids — about one-third of the population of French Lick — and Bird found the campus outside the dormitory walls bewildering.

— Keith O'Brien, Rolling Stone, 22 Feb. 2026