bewildered

adjective

be·​wil·​dered bi-ˈwil-dərd How to pronounce bewildered (audio)
bē-
: deeply or utterly confused or perplexed
I was appalled and was too bewildered to do or say anything.Bram Stoker
He looked at her with a bewildered expression.
Speaking for myself, I stumbled into motherhood and was bewildered at the shift of gears, the volte-face required to reorient myself, my values and my way of life into being a carer of small children.Madeleine Bunting

Examples of bewildered in a Sentence

the bewildered child wandered aimlessly around the playground
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
This run – and the exhausted, bewildered looks on the players’ faces throughout it – has no doubt shaped Inter’s odds to win away to Barcelona, which look pretty close to long shot territory. Sam Tighe, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025 In the two years since Tommy Elliott was killed in a mass shooting, Maryanne’s grief has, in turns, left her aghast and overwhelmed, bewildered and incapacitated, grateful and wanting to die. Kristina Goetz, USA Today, 13 Apr. 2025 A couple was left bewildered after discovering an unfamiliar cat helping itself to their own pet's food in a now-viral TikTok video that has left viewers on the platform in hysterics. Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 June 2025 Officials in other places that had voted overwhelmingly for President Trump but were far from the front lines of the immigration debate were simply bewildered. Campbell Robertson, New York Times, 31 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for bewildered

Word History

First Known Use

1760, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bewildered was in 1760

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Cite this Entry

“Bewildered.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bewildered. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.

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