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

The real world may initially bewilder Barbie, but she figures it out.

From New York Times ● Jul. 18, 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

And this retrospective enjoyment increases with every repeated recital, until the scenes of his past history assume a magnificence of proportion that bewilders the narrator himself, and sets the principles of optics entirely at defiance.

From My Unknown Chum by Charles Bullard Fairbanks

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

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

So I am a bit bewildered as pundits declare that the success of “The Odyssey” reflects some larger theme about what film audiences want.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 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

The Knicks still trailed 90-75 heading into the fourth, but they chipped away against the bewildered Spurs and their determination paid off.

From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026

“No...yes...” the second guard said, equally bewildered by Lady Meng.

From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin

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

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

From BBC ● Jun. 21, 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

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

The 100th Bomb Group was crowded that morning, a dizzying swirl of activity and a bewildering buffet that stretched the length of the room.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng