as in to confuse
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
the hotel staff is completely fuddled by the guest's bizarre requests
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Recent Examples of fuddle
In colliding with a new type of animal, a chemical that might once have served to fuddle the wits of pests has been transformed into a glittering lure.
—
Gareth Cook, Scientific American, 24 June 2020
Gareth Cook, Scientific American, 24 June 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fuddle
Verb
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As if that wasn’t confusing enough, not all Christians agree on what day of the calendar that specific Sunday is.—
Manon Bischoff,
Scientific American,
4 Apr. 2026
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This was not to be confused with the Ulster Volunteer Force or the Ulster Defence Association, both terrorist organizations that vehemently favored the link with Britain.—
Colm Tóibín,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
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His disaffection baffles his acquaintances and pains his tubercular wife (a superb Quinn Jackson), whose doctor (Lambert Tamin) has only contempt for her husband’s agonizing.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
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The Late Show host appeared genuinely baffled by the president’s current poll numbers during his opening monologue on Tuesday, mostly due to the 22 percent of Americans who are still throwing their support behind the 79-year-old former reality star.—
Emlyn Travis,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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There aren’t many ways to earn a club’s first win better than bewildering the league’s defending champions at their place.—
Braidon Nourse,
Denver Post,
26 Mar. 2026
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Now, many millions of Americans are bewildered by events.—
David French,
Mercury News,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Their presence prompted nervousness among beachgoers and surfers sharing the water, but marveled researchers who were perplexed by the abnormally longer stay close to shore.—
Laylan Connelly,
Oc Register,
27 Mar. 2026
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These are the brutally real snapshots of a man well acquainted with—but still perplexed by—the powerful and destructive forces that lord over our lives.—
Dash Lewis,
Pitchfork,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Given its history, Larkin might seem a puzzling choice to partner with a state agency charged with protecting elders who cannot care for themselves.—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
2 Apr. 2026
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This gap has puzzled researchers for years.—
Rhonda Winegar,
The Conversation,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Player recruitment was muddled, managerial appointments flawed (Remi Garde lasted 147 days in that relegation season) and the team underperformed.—
Stuart James,
New York Times,
21 Mar. 2026
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Cross-functional collaboration that isn’t muddled in hierarchy speeds up innovation.—
Claire Zillman,
Fortune,
14 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Does springing forward in early March leave you feeling discombobulated during your commute?—
Camila Pedrosa,
Sacbee.com,
30 Mar. 2026
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Yet Grace is the one who wakes up in space, and this story emerges nonlinearly, narrative flashbacks like bursts of memory ripping through his brain, discombobulated after a long intergalactic coma.—
Katie Walsh,
Twin Cities,
21 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fuddle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fuddle. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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