bewilder

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

Essential to a wilderness is its capacity to bewilder, and though certain of Church’s colleagues in the Hudson River group, notably Worthington Whittredge, brilliantly captured this dense, enfolding quality, Church seldom did.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026

If the soul of Leif Erikson were to materialize inside his statue for a day, much of what he saw would bewilder him.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 13, 2023

Thanksgiving is a time for making people happy, not for persuading them to drink avant-garde styles that you love but that may bewilder mainstream drinkers.

From New York Times ● Nov. 4, 2021

Actually, it’s far, far worse than that because AT maps—for reasons that bewilder me beyond speculation—provide less detail than even their meager scale allows.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

Before grandmother can visit, she is expected to be able to speak to her granddaughter in English — a request that bewilders and aggrieves her, but one that she cannot refuse.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 7, 2024

The variety of goals that the Japanese striker scores is astonishing, but all of them have one thing in common - speed of thought that bewilders the unfortunates tasked with the job of marking him.

From BBC ● Apr. 8, 2023

Basra continually bewilders experts, envoys and residents: How can a relatively stable province so rich in resources rank among the poorest and most under-developed in the country?

From Washington Times ● Mar. 24, 2023

Basra continually bewilders experts, envoys and residents: How can a relatively stable province so rich in resources rank among the poorest and most underdeveloped in the country?

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 23, 2023

The very glimpse of that vision bewilders the mind.

From What You Can Do With Your Will Power by Conwell, Russell H.

The reaction of his coach Jeroen Benard, who looked equally bewildered, was brilliant.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

Expats and tourists from some of the hottest, muggiest U.S. states are bewildered: How has a lifetime of sweltering heat not prepared them for this?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

“The Admin wants all of this to happen as soon as possible. It is frankly bewildered that Anthropic hasn’t wanted to comply with safety requests that it previously said were its highest priority,” he wrote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026

Christine Li is a model and influencer, but not an actor, so when she saw herself playing a cruel character in a Chinese microdrama she felt bewildered, then angry and afraid.

From Barron's ● Apr. 24, 2026

Months after I got to know the five of them, I found to my surprise that at the start they’d been nearly as bewildered by me as I by them.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

Yankees games appear on a bewildering array of channels and platforms—some free, most not.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

Across Havana, private enterprise is transforming the landscape, with new businesses offering cold beer, domestic appliances or car parts popping up at a bewildering rate.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

With its exquisite controls—a knob to wind the clock, a key to wind the bell and a button to silence the alarm—it was a bewildering cross between jewelry and a grown-up appliance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

There is something intuitively catchy about brain attack, even if it’s also a little bewildering.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2026

Between the glowing columns of the cloister is the cool darkness that only churches have, and I stand there and wonder whether, when I am twenty, I shall have experienced the bewildering emotions of love.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque