Bewilder Meaning
/bɪˈwɪldə(ɹ)/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
verbTo confuse, disorientate, or puzzle someone, especially with many different choices.
Sentence Examples
Tom's paintings were so chaotic and abstract that they tended to bewilder viewers.
Dialects of English spoken in one country often bewilder speakers of English from another.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The unexpected plot twist in the movie will ____ even the most attentive viewers.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The complex instructions will surely ____ even the smartest student.
Word Origin & History
From be- (prefix used as an intensifier) + wilder (“to lead astray; to go astray, wander”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Thou, Kind Redeemer, toucht to ſee / So ſad a Sight, ſuch moving Miſery, / Didſt ſoon determine to diſpel / Theſe Shades of Death, and Gloom of Hell: / And ſo to reviſit with Thy Heav'nly Light / Loſt Man, bewilder'd in Infernal Night."
— 1703, [Richard Blackmore], A Hymn to the Light of the World. With a Short Description of the Cartons of Raphael Urbin, in the Gallery at Hampton-Court, London: Printed for Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC, page 8:
"Such Works, in point of Precepts, are of the Number of thoſe that are call'd ſpecious, in which the Authors, whilſt they endeavour too exactly to explain what they have dogmatically advanc'd, loſe themſelves in imaginary Mazes, and bewilder themſelves more and more."
— 1717, Louis Liger, “Of the Flowers that are to be Sown in the Month of March, and of the Manner of Raising Them”, in George London, Henry Wise, transl., The Retir’d Gardener. In Six Parts. […], 2nd revised edition, London: Publish’d […] by Joseph Carpenter; [p]rinted for J[acob] Tonson […], →OCLC, part the fifth, page 269:
"It is that fiend politics, Asem,—that baneful fiend, which bewildereth every brain, and poisons every social feeling; which intrudes itself at the festive banquet, and, like the detestable harpy, pollutes the very viands of the table; [...]"
— 1807 October 15, “Mustapha Rub-a-Dub Keli Khan” [pseudonym; Washington Irving; William Irving; James Kirke Paulding], “Letter from Mustapha Rub-a-Dub Keli Khan, to Asem Hacchem, Principal Slave-driver to His Highness the Bashaw of Tripoli”, in Salmagundi; or, The Whim-whams and Opinions of Launcelot Langstaff, Esq. and Others [...] First Series. In Two Volumes, new corrected edition, volume II, number XVI, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers […], published 1835, →OCLC, page 157:
"[P]ause therefore, now, and solemnly determine that you will never again degrade your being, by bewildering your brain with strong liquor."
— 1821, Plain Directions on Domestic Economy, Showing Particularly What are the Cheapest, and Most Nourishing Articles of Food and Drink, and the Best Modes of Preparation, New York, N.Y.: Published by order of the Society for the Prevention of Pauperism; printed by Samuel Wood & Sons, […], →OCLC, page 13:
"Thou bewilderest my mind by thy ambiguous words. Tell me, therefore, one only thing for certain, by which I may obtain happiness."
— 1874, Hurrychund Chintamon, chapter 3, in A Commentary on the Text of the Bhagavad-Gítá; or, The Discourse between Krishna and Arjuna on Divine Matters. […], London: Trübner and Co., […], →OCLC, page 17:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The unexpected plot twist in the movie will ____ even the most attentive viewers.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The complex instructions will surely ____ even the smartest student.