be·fud·dle

[bih-fuhd-l]
verb (used with object), be·fud·dled, be·fud·dling.
1.
to confuse, as with glib statements or arguments: politicians befuddling the public with campaign promises.
2.
to make stupidly drunk.

Origin:
1885–90; be- + fuddle

be·fud·dler, noun
be·fud·dle·ment, noun


1. perplex, bewilder, baffle, daze, muddle.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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World English Dictionary
befuddle (bɪˈfʌdəl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
vb
1.  to confuse, muddle, or perplex
2.  to make stupid with drink
 
be'fuddlement
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10
Befuddled is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

befuddle
1887, from be- + fuddle. Originally to confuse with strong drink. An earlier word in the same sense was begunk (1725).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Running street battles lasted more than five hours as students befuddled the
  police.
My companion's role is unclear to my befuddled head.
They'll get befuddled and need to be coaxed up staircases.
It's the source of the common name that has me befuddled.
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