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
The strategy confounded our opponents. The murder case has confounded investigators. The school's team confounded all predictions and won the game. The success of the show confounded critics.
Recent Examples on the WebHiring mercenaries is a foolproof way to confound international laws prohibiting savagery in war. Sean Mcfate, WSJ, 12 Apr. 2022 After a truly awkward June for the world’s Wordle players, the five-letter daily puzzler–which remains the second most popular game globally among the Twitter gaming community–continues to confound users of the social media platform. Matt Gardner, Forbes, 2 Aug. 2022 The morphable character of crypto tokens will confound cookie-cutter application of the regulated security definition. J.w. Verret, WSJ, 2 Aug. 2022 To its credit, the movie does somewhat confound our expectations. Eben Weiss, Outside Online, 21 June 2022 Whereas some adversarial attacks seek to disrupt or confound the AI, another equally if not more insidious form of deception involves getting the AI to act on the behalf of the attacker. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 16 May 2022 Do not confound today’s AI with an unknown and fantastical kind of future AI. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 2 May 2022 Sixty percent of Americans, including 75 percent of children, had been infected with the coronavirus by February, federal health officials reported on Tuesday — another remarkable milestone in a pandemic that continues to confound expectations.New York Times, 26 Apr. 2022 Batman's Harley Quinn arrives with some cool toys and surprise moves, like a dash-and-punch-back special attack that puts players into position to confound opponents. Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, 19 May 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Middle English confounden "to defeat, destroy, frustrate, bewilder," borrowed from Anglo-French confondre, going back to Latin confundere "to pour together, blend, bring into disorder, destroy, disconcert," from con-con- + fundere "to pour, shed" — more at found entry 5