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

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

"But how shall I ever find him?" asked Theseus, "if the labyrinth so bewilders me as you say it will?"

From A Wonder Book and Tanglewood Tales For girls and boys by Hawthorne, Nathaniel

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 that, above all, is why so many of us in the media are bewildered by the moves that CBS News’ new editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, made recently.

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

Figo looked dazed and bewildered at his unveiling but showed his class once he hit the Bernabeu turf.

From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2026

So it was always a strange experience to step inside a church to begin with, but that wasn’t why he was so bewildered.

From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro

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

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

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

From BBC ● May 9, 2026

Then there is the bewildering volume of files now available for the conspiracy-minded to peruse in search of clues and secret codes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 7, 2026

The marshes were bewildering and treacherous, and there was no permanent trail even for Rangers to find through their shifting quagmires.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien