bewilderment
Other forms: bewilderments
If you spoke nothing but German one day to your English-speaking friends and co-workers, it would probably result in complete bewilderment. Bewilderment is a state of being confused and puzzled.
Bewilderment means not understanding, but it goes beyond that — it implies a state of complete mystification. People experience bewilderment when they are utterly baffled by the situation at hand. The word is a relatively new one, first recorded in the 1680s as a combination of be, "thoroughly," and wilder, "lead astray or lure into the wilds." You can think of bewilderment as being led into the wilderness and left to puzzle your way out.
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confusion resulting from failure to understandsynonyms: bafflement, befuddlement, bemusement, mystification, obfuscation, puzzlementtype of:confusedness, confusion, disarray, mental confusion, muddinessa mental state characterized by a lack of clear and orderly thought and behavior
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Vocabulary lists containing bewilderment
Twelve-year-old Jonas lives in a regimented community that is free from pain and suffering — but also free from joy, independence, and even color. When he is appointed the community's Receiver of Memory, Jonas begins to question everything he has been taught.
After a shipwreck, Rainsford thinks he's safe when he washes ashore a mysterious island — but once he meets the eccentric General Zaroff, he realizes his problems have just begun. Read the full text here.
In the fourth book of the Harry Potter series, the Triwizard Tournament brings foreign students — and unexpected dangers — to Hogwarts.