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

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

From National Geographic ● Jan. 8, 2024

From there, Ahmed ripped the ball both ways to befuddle the Irish.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2023

Jason wondered if Piper was working some sort of Aphrodite magic on him—like maybe every time he mentioned Reyna’s name, she would befuddle him so much he couldn’t think about anything but Piper.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

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

Stagflation is the bitterest of economic pills: High inflation mixes with a weak job market to cause a toxic brew that punishes consumers and befuddles economists.

From Seattle Times ● May 26, 2022

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

But the question of where Laufey sits in the pantheon of popular music has befuddled critics ever since.

From BBC ● May 2, 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

The music crashed to a stop and he turned a befuddled glare toward the audience.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

The office of Armstrong, who said he never met Hsieh and yet was named a co-executor for Hsieh’s estate in the surprise will, received another befuddling document: a death certificate of Singh’s grandfather.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

The film — where Jessie Buckley plays three characters, each with their own frenzied personality — may be tonally imbalanced and, at times, utterly befuddling.

From Salon ● Jun. 10, 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

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

He cocked his head, tapping his lower lip as though he found the concept absolutely befuddling.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros