as in bewildered
suffering from mental confusion
the perennially befuddled professor was always forgetting where she'd left her glasses
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in baffled
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of befuddled
Tom Tapp,
Deadline,
24 Mar. 2026
The Tea Party sprang out of the grass roots and roared at befuddled Congressional representatives in town halls across the country.
—
Literary Hub,
23 Mar. 2026
David Goldman,
CNN Money,
19 Mar. 2026
Berube was befuddled by the way his team started the third, a problem that lies at the feet of the players as well as the coach.
—
Jonas Siegel,
New York Times,
14 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for befuddled
Adjective
The befuddled host is left to shake his head as the trio wander off.
—
Tom Tapp,
Deadline,
24 Mar. 2026
The Tea Party sprang out of the grass roots and roared at befuddled Congressional representatives in town halls across the country.
—
Literary Hub,
23 Mar. 2026
Verb
Powell acknowledged he was befuddled by persistent gains in housing prices, considering the job market was weakening.
—
David Goldman,
CNN Money,
19 Mar. 2026
Berube was befuddled by the way his team started the third, a problem that lies at the feet of the players as well as the coach.
—
Jonas Siegel,
New York Times,
14 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for befuddled
Recent Examples of Synonyms for befuddled
Adjective
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Fido was fine, if a little bewildered, and in February 1973, the board lifted its book bans.
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At the risk of sounding less like a columnist and more like a bewildered bystander … what the heck happened?
Verb
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His mother, Ahmani Hicks, describes him as a kid who loved sports, and she's baffled as to why her son was targeted.
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Known as the Galactic Center Excess, a spherical gamma-ray glow extending out for thousands of light-years from the core of our galaxy, this high-energy light has baffled researchers for over a decade.
Adjective
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Like Mahrez, Austria’s Marcel Sabitzer seemed slightly dazed following the topsy-turvy turn of events.
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Humans of all ages, in fact, stare dazed into glowing screens.
Verb
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Pochettino seemed puzzled by the downcast tone of his post-match press conference.
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Astronomers are puzzled that such a glaring inconsistency could have gone unnoticed in existing data, such as the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), which provides our earliest snapshot of the universe.
Adjective
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Keke Palmer was confused about why she wasn't asked to emcee the event.
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The competing corridors have left them confused, forcing them to navigate not only the treacherous waters – facing threats from sea mines, aerial drones, and Revolutionary Guard patrol boats – but also the complex political currents across the strait.
Verb
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And Wednesday’s doubleheader — thanks to a Monday rainout that perplexed Counsell — certainly didn’t help the pitching staff.
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None of this is meant to demean Byram, who’ll likely now face extra scrutiny from a fanbase that’s surely perplexed by this move, especially once the Blackhawks extend his contract, possibly to the $10 million range.
Adjective
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And when Cape Verde’s Deroy Duarte evened the score with a right footed shot from a difficult angle at the 59-minute mark, the stunned stadium went silent, minus two small spirited clots of Cape Verde fans in the East end zone seats.
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Fans jumped up and down after Folarin Balogun punched in what seemed to be the game’s first goal near the 31-minute mark, then expressed stunned disbelief when the striker was deemed offsides.
Adjective
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Some big rubber balls had been tossed in to keep them distracted.
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The problem, Larson said, is that Congress was highly distracted at the time with passing the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Cite this Entry
“Befuddled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/befuddled. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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