Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To cause (someone) to be unable to think clearly; confuse.
  • transitive verb To stupefy with alcohol; intoxicate.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To stupefy or muddle with intoxicants; make stupidly drunk.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To becloud and confuse, as with liquor.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive to perplex or confuse (someone)
  • verb transitive to stupefy someone, especially with alcohol

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb make stupid with alcohol
  • verb be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • He said the survey "raised the bar" for other surveys and challenged the polling industry not to "befuddle" politicians, voters and opinion-makers.

    ANC Daily News Briefing 2003

  • He said the survey "raised the bar" for other surveys and challenged the polling industry not to "befuddle" politicians, voters and opinion-makers.

    ANC Daily News Briefing 2003

  • Alongside the reliable, quietly impressive Umar Gul , during the recent series Junaid Khan emerged as a canny, reliable bowler with some Asif-like qualities, while Aizaz Cheema looks lively, and the extraordinary windmilling flail of arms resembling a cartoon fight that constitutes the bowling action of Pakistan's Sohail Tanvir continues to have the occasional capacity to befuddle the best.

    Pakistan Shows Resilience Amid Turmoil Richard Lord 2011

  • Personally, because I know seniors who are computer masters and middle-age people whose PCs befuddle them, I'd say such a machine might appeal to anyone of any age who needs or craves greater simplicity in a PC.

    A Simple PC For Seniors Is Complicated By Its Flaws Walter S. Mossberg 2011

  • Most of us go through life overthinking hamburgers or pretty girls or bad people; the Marx Brothers eat them, kiss them and befuddle them.

    The World Turned Upside Down Larry Miller 2010

  • In his 1920 novel, The Trial, Franz Kafka provided a dizzying look at the senseless complexity of a bureaucracy that seems to exist primarily to befuddle and punish its constituents.

    Lisa Madigan: Mortgage Companies: Playing Loosely With the Rules of Foreclosure Lisa Madigan 2010

  • Only in the first Brahms did the composer's characteristic nightmare of cross-rhythms befuddle the chorus.

    Concert review: National Master Chorale at National Presbyterian Church Cecelia Porter 2010

  • We're not truly looking for games that question, befuddle, teach, insult, mortify, provoke .... that is almost NEVER the underlying reason for an argument.

    I'd Rather Let The Flowers Keep Doing What They Do Best SVGL 2009

  • But he worries that they can be misused, misinterpreted and even befuddle someone who is truly inebriated.

    Testing the Limits of Tipsy Melinda Beck 2011

  • Years later, Branson learned the band thought they were being drugged to befuddle them.

    The Saturday interview: Richard Branson 2011

Comments

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  • such a silly-sounding word. but on that note, it DOES communicate the meaning aptly, in my opinion.

    November 16, 2008