puzzle implies existence of a problem difficult to solve.
the persistent fever puzzled the doctor
perplex adds a suggestion of worry and uncertainty especially about making a necessary decision.
a behavior that perplexed her friends
bewilder stresses a confusion of mind that hampers clear and decisive thinking.
a bewildering number of possibilities
distract implies agitation or uncertainty induced by conflicting preoccupations or interests.
distracted by personal problems
nonplus implies a bafflement that makes orderly planning or deciding impossible.
the remark left us utterly nonplussed
confound implies temporary mental paralysis caused by astonishment or profound abasement.
the tragic news confounded us all
dumbfound suggests intense but momentary confounding; often the idea of astonishment is so stressed that it becomes a near synonym of astound.
was at first too dumbfounded to reply
Example Sentences
Verb You sneak into his room while I distract him. He was distracted from his studies. The students are easily distracted, especially when they're tired. I was distracted by a loud noise. The local story distracted attention from news of the war overseas.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Republicans counter that the White House is focusing on Mr. Trump to distract from the administration’s not doing enough to address high inflation and voters’ concerns about the economy. Andrew Restuccia, WSJ, 23 Aug. 2022 Dave Chappelle does not want the audience member who assaulted him onstage to distract from his history-making run at the Hollywood Bowl. Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 May 2022 Which are all necessary to distract from such toothless inside-baseball Hollywood satire, such witless, outdated pandemic observation and the sheer Saharan humor desert that is the dialogue. Jessica Kiang, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2022 Smith does his absolute best to wring a little fun out of his character, dancing around in smoking jackets and throwing himself into every action scene with aplomb, but it’s not enough to distract from the overall dour tone. David Sims, The Atlantic, 31 Mar. 2022 Ukrainian officials denounced the proposal as propaganda, and said it was meant to distract attention from the Russian shelling of areas where civilians are trying to flee.New York Times, 7 Mar. 2022 Then, an even more awkward situation happens to distract from that awkward situation. Nick Romano, EW.com, 28 Feb. 2022 At that point, firefighters used a white sheet to distract the deer while two others on ladders attempted to free the wild animal. John Benson, cleveland, 2 Sep. 2022 But those things aren’t necessarily identical, and Blumberg argues that equating them could distract us from understanding the role of REM sleep. Ed Yong, The Atlantic, 25 Aug. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English, from Latin distractus, past participle of distrahere, literally, to draw apart, from dis- + trahere to draw