befuddle

[ bih-fuhd-l ]

See synonyms for: befuddle befuddled befuddles befuddling on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),be·fud·dled, be·fud·dling.

to confuse, as with glib statements or arguments: politicians befuddling the public with campaign promises.
to make stupidly drunk.

Origin of befuddle

First recorded in 1885–90; be- + fuddle

Other words for befuddle

1	perplex, bewilder, baffle, daze, muddle

See synonyms for befuddle on Thesaurus.com

Other words from befuddle

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use befuddle in a sentence

Flashing a smug grin while throwing up your collective shoulders in blithe befuddlement should convince absolutely no one.
It’s Time to Rip the Money Out of the NCAA | Robert Silverman | April 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The angsty, hazy mind of a teenager is a source of constant befuddlement and dismay for full-grown observers.
Who Invented the ‘Teenager’? | Nina Strochlic | March 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
One former Media Research Center employee reacted to the news with a deep sense of befuddlement, “I thought everyone knew it.”
Ex-Employees of Conservative Figure L. Brent Bozell Say He Didn’t Write His Books or Columns | Ben Jacobs | February 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Still, I have heard more than a few people, of all races, shrug in some kind of befuddlement about what they are expected to feel.
South Africa Kicks Off Week Of Mourning Mandela | Mark Gevisser | December 9, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
This state of affairs is a source of befuddlement to Walmart executives.
Sad Face at Walmart | Daniel Gross | May 16, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST

She had only added to his befuddlement and he bent forward, soliciting some more lucid statement of her position.
A Hoosier Chronicle | Meredith Nicholson
In the lecture room he often lost the thread of his thought, remained long pained minutes in speechless befuddlement.
Caybigan | James Hopper
The befuddlement of Antoine and the waiter who assisted him added to the general joy.
Lady Larkspur | Meredith Nicholson
That was all Emma needed to reduce her to absolute befuddlement.
The Purple Heights | Marie Conway Oemler
But their befuddlement was only a tithe of that which struck Cleigh an hour later.
The Pagan Madonna | Harold MacGrath

British Dictionary definitions for befuddle

befuddle

/ (bɪˈfʌdəl) /

verb(tr)

to confuse, muddle, or perplex
to make stupid with drink

Derived forms of befuddle

befuddlement, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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