1
: marked by confusion or bewilderment : dazed
… he was fumbling with the sheets, and looking down at them with a slightly bemused expression as though the stuff before him was in a foreign language …—
Robert Penn Warren
Robert Penn Warren2
: lost in thought or reverie
… as distant and bemused as a Professor Emeritus listening to the prattling of his freshman class.—Michael Straight
Michael Straight3
: having or showing feelings of wry amusement especially from something that is surprising or perplexing
This is not another of those now popular books about a bemused outsider's sojourn in rural France, brimming with colorful locals and heart-warming anecdotes.—J. D. McClatchy
J. D. McClatchy
bemusedly
bi-ˈmyü-zəd-lē 
adverb
bē-
Harry looked bemusedly at the photograph Colin was brandishing under his nose.
—J. K. Rowling
J. K. Rowling
Synonyms
- addle
- addled
- addlepated
- bedeviled
- befogged
- befuddled
- bewildered
- bushed [chiefly Australian]
- confounded
- confused
- dazed
- distracted
- dizzy
- dopey
- dopy
- fogged
- mixed-up
- muddleheaded
- muzzy
- pixilated
- pixillated
- punch-drunk
- punchy
- raddled
- shell-shocked
- silly
- slaphappy
- spaced-out
- spaced
- spacey
- spacy
- stunned
- stupefied
- zonked
- zonked-out
Examples of bemused in a Sentence
new federal regulations that the easily bemused should make no attempt to read and understand
Recent Examples on the Web
The contrast between Blethyn’s Cynthia, all twitching nerves, emotionally raw and vulnerable, and the calm, restrained, often bemused performance of Jean-Baptiste as Hortense forms the emotional core of the film.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Oct. 2024
At the dining table in Turin, L. seemed bemused by all the attention, and said little.
—D. T. Max, The New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2024
In the period where Boone and Cole provided differing accounts, the Red Sox seemed upset about Devers getting hit by a pitch and then bemused about the odd free pass, especially during the seven or eight minutes the slugger spoke.
—Larry Fleisher, Forbes, 14 Sep. 2024
Eventually the Red Sox wound up with the last set of laughs, going from bemused to finishing off a rout.
—Larry Fleisher, Forbes, 14 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bemused 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Oct. 2024
At the dining table in Turin, L. seemed bemused by all the attention, and said little.
—D. T. Max, The New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2024
In the period where Boone and Cole provided differing accounts, the Red Sox seemed upset about Devers getting hit by a pitch and then bemused about the odd free pass, especially during the seven or eight minutes the slugger spoke.
—Larry Fleisher, Forbes, 14 Sep. 2024
Eventually the Red Sox wound up with the last set of laughs, going from bemused to finishing off a rout.
—Larry Fleisher, Forbes, 14 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bemused
Dictionary Entries Near bemused
Cite this Entry
“Bemused.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bemused. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share