bewilder
be·wild·er/bɪˈwɪldɚ/verb
bewilder is a verb meaning “To confuse, disorientate, or puzzle someone, especially with many different choices” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled B-E-W-I-L-D-E-R and has 3 syllables (be·wild·er), and it appears about once in every 18 million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data).
What does bewilder mean?
verb
- 1
To confuse, disorientate, or puzzle someone, especially with many different choices.
All the different possible options may bewilder us.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you pronounce bewilder?
- UK /bɪˈwɪldə(ɹ)/
- US /bɪˈwɪldɚ/
Bewilder has 3 syllables, split be·wild·er in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-bewilder.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of bewilder
- bewilders present, singular, he/she/it
- bewildering participle, present
- bewildered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is bewilder?
Bewilder appears about once in every 18 million words in written English, the 128,787th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Bewilder in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to confuse, disorientate, or puzzle someone:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | abasourdir, confondre, déconcerter, dérouter, désorienter |
| German | verwirren, durcheinanderbringen |
| Portuguese | confundir, desconcertar, desorientar |
| Spanish | confundir, desconcertar, pasmar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does bewilder come from?
From be- (prefix used as an intensifier) + wilder (“to lead astray; to go astray, wander”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).