bewildering
be·wil·der·ing/bɪˈwɪldəɹɪŋ/adjective, noun, verb
bewildering is spelled B-E-W-I-L-D-E-R-I-N-G: 11 letters and 4 syllables (be·wil·der·ing). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,320th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, bewildering means “Very baffling, confusing, or perplexing, often due to a very large choice being available” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in bewildering?
| Letters | 11: B-E-W-I-L-D-E-R-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: be·wil·der·ing |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 35,320th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is bewildering?
Bewildering appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,320th 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).
How do you pronounce bewildering?
- US /bɪˈwɪldəɹɪŋ/
- US /bɪˈwɪldɹɪŋ/
Bewildering has 4 syllables, split be·wil·der·ing in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-bewildering.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of bewildering
- more bewildering comparative
- most bewildering superlative
- bewilderings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bewildering mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Very baffling, confusing, or perplexing, often due to a very large choice being available.
There was a bewildering collection of curiosities filling the room.
noun
- 1
gerund of bewilder: bewilderment.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of bewilder
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bewildering in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense very baffling, confusing, or perplexing:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | abasourdissant |
| German | befremdlich, irreführend, irremachend, irritierend, konfus machend, verblüffend |
| Spanish | desconcertante |
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 bewildering come from?
From bewilder (“to confuse, disorientate, or puzzle someone, especially with many different choices”) + -ing (suffix forming nouns or noun-like words from verbs, denoting the act of doing something, an action, or the embodiment of an action; and forming the present participles of verbs).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).