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

Figuring out what metrics make a streaming show successful can bewilder fans.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2023

This was one more thing to bewilder everyone, especially the horseman.

From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios

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

In Herman Melville’s 1853 short story “Bartleby, the Scrivener,” a Wall Street clerk bewilders his manager by politely refusing to do basic tasks, including leaving the office.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2022

Existence developed brilliantly for her, and the world's incense mounted to her head, and bewildered her, as it bewilders all, even the wisest and gravest, if they are exposed to its influence.

From Countess Erika's Apprenticeship by Ossip Schubin

At first, I was pleasantly surprised, if a little bewildered because of who they came from.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

By the time Boyle danced past several bewildered defenders and made it 4-0, it seemed as though Hibs could do no wrong.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 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

And he’d looked at her, almost bewildered, then said, “It’s a Joe Mauer signed baseball,” as if that was all that needed to be said.

From "Breadcrumbs" by Anne Ursu

One of the more bewildering primary results of the year came this week in Michigan’s 8th Congressional District, a swing seat currently represented by Democratic freshman Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet.

From Slate ● Aug. 8, 2026

So how can Labour escape this new bewildering world of pain?

From BBC ● May 9, 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

Shibley Telhami, a professor of peace and development at the University of Maryland and a fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank, says the threat of a blockade was "bewildering and seems self-defeating."

From Barron's ● Apr. 12, 2026

For audiences reared on the regular, predictable patterns of Haydn and Mozart, the Eroica’s many noisy surprises would have been both titillating and bewildering.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall