Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

bewildering

/bɪˈwɪldəɹɪŋ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.84 in modern English

Syllables: be-wil-der-ing
IPA: /bɪˈwɪldəɹɪŋ/

18

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

4

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Very baffling, confusing, or perplexing, often due to a very large choice being available.

noun

gerund of bewilder: bewilderment.

verb

present participle and gerund of bewilder

Example Sentences

"There was a bewildering collection of curiosities filling the room."
"—At once bewildering mists around him close, / And cold and hunger are the least of woes; / The Demon of the Snow, with angry roar / Descending, shuts for aye his prison door."
"The two young Cratchits laughed tremendously at the idea of Peter's being a man of business; and Peter himself looked thoughtfully at the fire from between his collars, as if he were deliberating what particular investments he should favour when he came into the receipt of that bewildering income."
"Can this be the Bird, to man so good, / Our consecrated Robin! / That, after their bewildering, / Did cover with leaves the little children, / So painfully in the wood?"
"Then the bewilderings of the comings and the goings of the coffins at the large and populous house; these bewilderings came over me. What was it to be dead? What is it to be living?"

Etymology

From bewilder (“to confuse, disorientate, or puzzle someone, especially with many different choices”) + -ing (suffix forming nouns or noun-like words from verbs, denoting the act of doing something, an action, or the embodiment of an action; and forming the present participles of verbs).

Word Breakdown

Suffix: bewilder

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /bɪˈwɪldəɹɪŋ/
British English: /bɪˈwɪldəɹɪŋ/

Inflected Forms

more bewildering (comparative) most bewildering (superlative) bewilderings (plural)

Derived Forms

bewilderingly bewilderingness unbewildering

Frequently Paired Words

bewilder bewilderment

Synonyms

dizzying head-scratching mind-boggling puzzlesome baffling bemusing befuddling bewildering cattywampus clear as mud confounding confusing

Antonyms

unbewildering

Questions

How do you pronounce bewildering?: The recorded pronunciation is /bɪˈwɪldəɹɪŋ/.
What does bewildering mean?: Very baffling, confusing, or perplexing, often due to a very large choice being available.
Where does bewildering come from?: From bewilder (“to confuse, disorientate, or puzzle someone, especially with many different choices”) + -ing (suffix forming nouns or noun-like words from verbs, denoting the act of doing something, an action, or the embodiment of an action; and forming the present participles of verbs).

How to pronounce bewildering

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