bewilder
/bɪˈwɪldə
/verb [with object]
Cause (someone) to become perplexed and confused: she was bewildered by his sudden change of mood...
- The utter imprudence of our mayor and City Council bewilders me.
- But what bewilders me is that instead of providing a real solution, the local authority simply forces the schools to close.
- For someone who, in the past, has been rated as the best goalkeeper in the world, it bewilders me why he so often opts to do the silly as opposed to the sensible.
Synonyms
baffle, mystify, bemuse, perplex, puzzle, confuse, confound, nonplus, disconcert, throw, set someone thinking
informal flummox, discombobulate, faze, stump, beat, fox, make someone scratch their head, be all Greek to, make someone's head spin, floor, fog
North American informal buffalo
archaic wilder, gravel, maze, cause to be at a stand, distract, pose
rare obfuscate
baffled, mystified, bemused, perplexed, puzzled, confused, nonplussed, at sea, at a loss, thrown off balance, disorientated, taken aback
informal flummoxed, bamboozled, discombobulated
Canadian & Australian/New Zealand informal bushed
archaic wildered, distracted, mazed
baffling, difficult to understand, perplexing, puzzling, mystifying, mysterious, confusing, disconcerting;
unaccountable, inexplicable, impenetrable, unfathomable, above one's head, beyond one;
complex, complicated, involved, intricate, convoluted, labyrinthine, Byzantine, Daedalian, Gordian
archaic wildering
Origin
Late 17th century: from be- 'thoroughly' + obsolete wilder 'lead or go astray', of unknown origin.