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

Bond market terminology was designed less to convey meaning than to bewilder outsiders.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

It all bewilders some who say they supported Muslims when they were under attack from the far-right and now feel betrayed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2023

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

No, such study of history bewilders and overwhelms.

From Thoughts Out of Season (Part II) by Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm

The Boks blitzed into a 17-point lead inside 11 minutes with England bewildered by the pace, muscle and cohesion of the hosts.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

Comment sections have quickly evolved into a digital support group for bewildered men swapping stories of their own theatre experience.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 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

Her hands twitched toward her scrunchie, but one look at the bewildered Emma was enough to convince her against it.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

While border officials contact authorities nationwide to verify the identity of those who don't have any form of ID, the process for newly arrived Afghans can be bewildering.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

Passengers on board the Nottingham service described the collision as "bewildering and frightening".

From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026

But the Health and Human Services Secretary’s statements at a House hearing last Thursday were as bewildering as the FDA rejection.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026

Liberalism has come to acquire a bewildering range of meanings over the years; our understanding of the word is, by necessity, contextual.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026

There was everywhere a bewildering mass of fruit blossom—apple, plum, pear, cherry; and as we drove by I could see the green grass under the trees spangled with the fallen petals.

From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker