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
Robert Penn Warren2
: lost in thought or reverie
… as distant and bemused as a Professor Emeritus listening to the prattling of his freshman class.—Michael Straight
Michael Straight3
: 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
J. D. McClatchy
bemusedly
bi-ˈmyü-zəd-lē 
adverb
bē-
Harry looked bemusedly at the photograph Colin was brandishing under his nose.
—J. K. Rowling
J. K. Rowling
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
However, things then went from bad to worse for Spaun who could only watch with a bemused expression as his tee shot on the famous par-three 17th sailed way past the green and landed straight in the water.
—Matias Grez, CNN, 17 Mar. 2025
Peck and Mount stand wearing bemused grins, while Gooding displays a mysterious countenance and stylish new hairdo while casually seated.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 18 Mar. 2025
His manner with the girl is more bemused, placating.
—Joyce Carol Oates, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2025
Admittedly the punishment might have been more for the apparent threat than the taboo language, but she was docked a point — which happened to be match point, handing the win to a bemused Kim Clijsters — and later fined $10,500 (£6,300 at the time).
—Nick Miller, The Athletic, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bemused
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Matias Grez, CNN, 17 Mar. 2025
Peck and Mount stand wearing bemused grins, while Gooding displays a mysterious countenance and stylish new hairdo while casually seated.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 18 Mar. 2025
His manner with the girl is more bemused, placating.
—Joyce Carol Oates, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2025
Admittedly the punishment might have been more for the apparent threat than the taboo language, but she was docked a point — which happened to be match point, handing the win to a bemused Kim Clijsters — and later fined $10,500 (£6,300 at the time).
—Nick Miller, The Athletic, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bemused
Cite this Entry
“Bemused.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bemused. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.
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