bewilderment
/bɪˈwɪldəɹmənt/noun
bewilderment is spelled B-E-W-I-L-D-E-R-M-E-N-T: 12 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,363rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, bewilderment means “The state of being bewildered” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of bewilderment is bewilderments.
How many letters and syllables are in bewilderment?
| Letters | 12: B-E-W-I-L-D-E-R-M-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 45,363rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is bewilderment?
Bewilderment appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,363rd 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 bewilderment?
- UK /bɪˈwɪldəmənt/
- US /bɪˈwɪldəɹmənt/
Bewilderment has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vininn126-bewilderment.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of bewilderment
- bewilderments plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bewilderment mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The state of being bewildered.
She looked around in bewilderment.
- 2
A confusing or perplexing situation.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bewilderment in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense state of being bewildered:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ahurissement, confusion, perplexité |
| German | Fassungslosigkeit, Verblüfftheit, Verdutztheit, Verdutzung |
| Spanish | desconcierto, perplejidad |
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 bewilderment come from?
From bewilder + -ment.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).