to bemuse

Examples

• All

• The children were bemused after seeing the magician pull a rabbit out of his hat.

• He was bemused by the unexpected turn of events during the meeting.

• By itself, the idea of travel through time was enough to bemuse him.

  Fiction book (1992)

• And in here I am lost, a little boy not twelve years old, bemused with fear.

  Fiction book (1990)

• Upon first hearing the music, my students were intrigued and a little bemused.

  Academic text (2000)

• His eyes had a way of sparkling, lit by the bemused smile spread upon his face.

  Fiction book (1998)

• "Seeing a ghost, do you mean?" Quint asks, bemused, "or seeing me?"

  Fiction book (1993)

• "Again we follow," Darius said, somewhat bemused by this pattern.

  Fiction book (1992)

• "See how slowly he works because he is old," Willie said, bemused, though still muttering as if through pain.

  Fiction book (1994)

• The mobile Elliott gestures at his frozen self as he speaks to the bemused Joey.

  Fiction book (1992)

Synonyms

T

to throw

vsto bemuse

321 7.8

To make someone feel confused or unsure

create cognitive puzzlement without strong emotional upset

C

to confuse

vsto bemuse

266 1.9

Make someone unable to think clearly or make something hard to understand

make someone feel puzzled rather than unable to think clearly

P

to puzzle

vsto bemuse

73 4.9

To make someone feel confused when something is hard to understand

act to cause confusion in someone rather than being hard to understand

B

to baffle

vsto bemuse

65 5.3

To make someone very confused and unable to understand

lead to general puzzlement rather than complete unanswerable mystery

S

to stump

vsto bemuse

39 5.3

To make someone unable to answer a question

cause general puzzlement rather than specifically preventing an answer or solution

P

to perplex

vsto bemuse

35 6.3

To make someone confused and unable to understand

focus on making a person feel puzzled rather than making things hard to understand

B

to bewilder

vsto bemuse

29 5.3

Make someone very confused and unable to think clearly

cause milder puzzlement rather than very strong inability to think clearly

M

to mystify

vsto bemuse

28 6.5

To make someone confused by making something seem mysterious

produce plain puzzlement without adding mystery or unexplained causes

C

to confound

vsto bemuse

22 7.0

Make someone unable to think clearly

produce puzzled feeling rather than severe inability to think clearly

D

to dumbfound

vsto bemuse

17 7.0

To surprise someone so much that they cannot speak or answer

lead to puzzled feeling without strong surprise or shock

B

to befuddle

vsto bemuse

11 7.8

To make someone very confused so they cannot think clearly

give milder puzzlement rather than blocking clear thought

F

to flummox

vsto bemuse

7 8.6

To confuse someone so they do not know what to do or think

cause mild puzzlement rather than total inability to decide or act

D

to discombobulate

vsto bemuse

• Informal

6 9.9

To confuse someone so they cannot think clearly

create simple puzzled feeling rather than deep mental unsettlement

V

to vex

vsto bemuse

1 7.7

To confuse someone by making something hard to understand

cause neutral confusion without the sense of being bothered or irritated

F

to fox

vsto bemuse

8.9

To confuse someone so they cannot think clearly

is about puzzlement rather than forcing inability to reason clearly

N

to nonplus

vsto bemuse

9.4

Surprise and confuse a person so they do not know what to do

cause simple puzzlement not necessarily tied to surprise

Antonyms

C

to clarify

248 3.3

To make something clear so others can understand it

E

to enlighten

55 4.8

To give someone clear information to help them understand something

How Confused

to bewilder

29 5.3

to perplex

35 6.3

to confuse

266 1.9

to bemuse

11 7.5

to puzzle

29 3.9

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology