Words / C1

bi-WILD-uh/bɪˈwɪldə/

To bewilder is to confuse someone completely: the new rules bewildered the staff. Confuse is everyday and weaker; baffle is a close synonym; perplex is a little more literary. Bewildered and bewildering are the common adjective forms; bewilderment is the noun. In speech, completely lost or thrown is enough. Use it for genuine disorientation, not a single unclear sentence.

Meaning

To confuse someone completely.

Examples

• “The new rules bewildered the staff.”
• “The overlapping timetables bewildered even the office that had written them.”
• “She looked bewildered, not uninterested, when the graph appeared.”

Good to know

Utterly confuse. Adjectives: bewildered / bewildering. Noun: bewilderment. Everyday: confuse / throw. Close: baffle.

Near in meaning

baffle

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