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

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

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

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

I do simplify, doubtless, if to simplify is to fail to comprehend the insanity of a passion that bewilders a young blockhead with bugaboo barriers, with hideous and monstrous sacrifices.

From The Spoils of Poynton by Henry James

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

From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026

“As if I had to go to the back of the line and wait my turn,” Mr. Guimarães says, bewildered.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 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

I stared up at her, bewildered, as a cold sweat surfaced under my arms.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

The source of his bewildering restraint becomes a mystery concealed on every page.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 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

At one point, amid the bewildering turmoil, one of the Politburo members simply shakes his head and says: “I’ve had nightmares that made more sense than this.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

Across Havana, private enterprise is transforming the landscape, with new businesses offering cold beer, domestic appliances or car parts popping up at a bewildering rate.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

It was an act of concentration, of trying to hold within one’s center of attention all of that bewildering array of facts which science, politics, experience, memory, and imagination were urging upon me.

From "Native Son" by Richard Wright