bemused

adjective

be·​mused bi-ˈmyüzd 

bē-

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

2

: lost in thought or reverie

… as distant and bemused as a Professor Emeritus listening to the prattling of his freshman class.

—Michael Straight

3

: 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

bemusedly

bi-ˈmyü-zəd-lē 

bē-

adverb

Harry looked bemusedly at the photograph Colin was brandishing under his nose.

—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

On the flip side, while Denzel Washington is getting Best Supporting Actor buzz for Gladiator, the reviews for the film have been all over the place, from genuine positivity to bemused hand-waving to general annoyance. —Joe Reid, Vulture, 27 Nov. 2024

Claims in the Spanish media that Newcastle made a €30million bid for Ferran Torres, the Barcelona forward, bemused club officials. —James McNicholas, The Athletic, 29 July 2024

As Li’s motorcade emerged from the airport, drumming, chanting and singing from those assembled greeted the leader, prompting questions from bemused retail workers arriving to open nearby stores. —San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 June 2024

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

Word History

First Known Use

1734, in the meaning defined at sense 1