1
Core action
Confuse or puzzle someone completely, making understanding or decision difficult.
Example
The contradictory instructions bewildered new users.
bewilder
/bɪˈwɪldər/ · bih-WIL-durverb
Confuse or puzzle someone completely, making understanding or decision difficult.
Use bewilder to express this relationship precisely: confuse or puzzle someone completely, making understanding or decision difficult.
What bewilder Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Common construction
Use this expression in its normal grammatical frame so the relationship between the surrounding ideas remains explicit.
Example
The sudden change bewildered even experienced observers.
3
Reasoning effect
It tells the reader how to interpret the timing, scope, evidence, contrast, condition, or consequence in the statement.
Example
Clear labels prevent the display from bewildering visitors.
Use bewilder Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
The contradictory instructions bewildered new users.
The sudden change bewildered even experienced observers.
Clear labels prevent the display from bewildering visitors.
Precision Matters
Bewilder overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
bewilder
vs.Means confuse or puzzle someone completely, making understanding or decision difficult.
ascertain
Means find out or establish a fact with certainty through investigation, observation, or evidence.
bewilder
vs.Means confuse or puzzle someone completely, making understanding or decision difficult.
interpret
Means explain, understand, or assign meaning or significance to information, language, evidence, or events.
bewilder
vs.Means confuse or puzzle someone completely, making understanding or decision difficult.
obfuscate
Means make an idea, issue, or statement unclear, confusing, or difficult to understand.
bewilder
vs.Means confuse or puzzle someone completely, making understanding or decision difficult.
arcane
Means known or understood by very few people because it is obscure, specialized, or mysterious.
Test bewilder in Context
The presentation leaves readers thoroughly confused and unable to interpret it.
1
The map's missing labels and conflicting symbols will likely ___ anyone unfamiliar with the region.