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

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

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

The orchestra gives her the keynote, and then, like a necromancer performing wonders with a coin, she executes a cadenza that bewilders and dazzles the senses.

From Stars of the Opera by Mabel Wagnalls

Other times, I was interviewing believers and, more often, their bewildered loved ones.

From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026

Losing not just one parent, but two, was "traumatic" for Cat and her three younger siblings, leaving them "so bewildered" by what had happened, she said.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

Birds and other animals, bewildered by unforeseen night, start behaving strangely.

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

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

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

Watching the spoon slide into his hand, he paused, bewildered.

From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai

Although there weren’t many of them numerically, the errors that the A.I. did make were confusing and bewildering enough to be disqualifying.

From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026

Remembering that lesson will surely help bereaved families through a process that many find bewildering at best; incomprehensible at worst.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

Private funds can carry hefty, highly variable, often bewildering fees.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

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

The words were acceptable enough, it was the indifferent tone that was bewildering.

From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare