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

Intricate pre-plotted plays befuddle defences with a blizzard of runners, while they shift the ball with a cardsharp's speed and dexterity.

From BBC ● Mar. 17, 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

They are part of a male scout team that routinely befuddles the Bruins women’s basketball players in practices and scrimmages, beating them with stronger bodies, faster moves, higher hops.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 28, 2024

Here’s what befuddles him right now: There isn’t much to fix regarding the way the Hurricanes are playing against the Florida Panthers.

From Washington Times ● May 23, 2023

It still befuddles me whenever I think of it, but why the heck is bacon packaging so incredibly un-user-friendly?

From Salon ● Jan. 14, 2023

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

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

An investor employing cold logic like a Vulcan in “Star Trek” would be befuddled by what he is currently seeing.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026

“This is the first time I’ve gone to a sentencing with an empty chair,” Norman Pattis, Diamantis’s befuddled lawyer, told reporters outside the courthouse.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

He emptied his bench in a desperate attempt to stem the flow, but his substitutions, five in 12 befuddled minutes, had zero impact.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026

A tall kid with long black hair wearing a sheepskin-lined jean jacket, big silver belt buckle, and a black cowboy hat was looking around the grounds, obviously befuddled.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

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

But as any shopper will tell you, finding the right one can be befuddling, especially in today’s jargon-cluttered marketplace.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 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