befuddle

The absurdist’s power rests in their ability to befuddle and bewilder, trusting the joke will land with the right folks and insult their target’s intelligence.

From Salon ● May 21, 2026

Today’s pitchers befuddle hitters with velocity and spin rate while exiting before 100 pitches.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026

He says he has drawn on classic police interrogation techniques to befuddle chatbots and get them to "crack".

From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2025

Even in the sunlight, the shadows and glare can befuddle landing cameras and sensors.

From National Geographic ● Jan. 8, 2024

It had been work, exhilarating but exhausting all the same, constantly having to befuddle building supers and bellhops and nosy neighbors just for a place to sleep.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

Admit it, the Lakers have hitched their future to a guy who might never be consistently great, a guy who dazzles far less than he befuddles.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2023

He has constructed a glossy fever dream that bewitches as much as it befuddles.

From Salon ● May 20, 2022

The chief concern is whether hostile countries are fielding aerial technology so advanced and weird that it befuddles and threatens the world’s largest military power.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 4, 2021

“The reason the ‘Latino vote’ befuddles is because it doesn’t exist, nor do ‘Latino issues,’” Isvett Verde, an opinion editor at The New York Times, wrote in an election postmortem.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 5, 2020

Grape-growers are not in the fog that befuddles growers of tree-fruits in regard to tillage.

From Manual of American Grape-Growing by U. P. Hedrick

But the day before contracts were exchanged Sarah received a phone call from her "befuddled" estate agent saying he had some bad news.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

Bryan Cranston transitioned from befuddled dad Hal to lethal drug lord Walter White in “Breaking Bad.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026

So with his season on the line on Sunday, McCollum drew up a diagonal full-court sprint that befuddled the Gators’ defense and ended with a wide-open 3-pointer for junior Alvaro Folgueiras.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026

One zoomer Republican operative in Washington was befuddled at how Butterworth’s had become such a destination: “A bunch of conservatives just decided it would be our place and I don’t understand why.”

From Slate ● Mar. 10, 2026

It was as if a small, befuddled stranger were peering through the imposing mask of my father’s features.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Even when her film is utterly befuddling, it’s a joy to behold.

From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2026

Many of the most befuddling stocks reviewed by Barron’s are holding companies incorporated in the Cayman Islands or the British Virgin Islands with investors or subsidiaries that are also Caribbean holding companies.

From Barron's ● Nov. 18, 2025

Concerns about chemicals, durability and buzzy new designs can make shopping for this kitchen staple befuddling.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2025

After getting outclassed for an hour and trailing 1-0 when by rights it should have been two or three, how did Scotland win this monumentally befuddling World Cup qualifier 3-1?

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2025

It was harder to feel scared of a lump of tea leaves away from the dim red light and befuddling perfume of Professor Trelawney’s classroom.

From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling