Meaning & use
bemused
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Puzzled or slightly confused, often with a faint, quiet smile.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a verb: a bemused look, he looked bemused; often followed by by.
Patterns
- bemused by something
- a bemused look
The tourists were bemused by the strange local custom.
She gave a bemused smile at the odd question.
He watched the children's game, bemused.
adjectivecomparableold-fashionedrare
Lost in thought and not paying attention to what is around you.
Grammar: An older, less common sense; it can be used after verbs like seem.
Patterns
- seem bemused
He sat bemused by the fire for an hour.
The professor wandered about, bemused, forgetting the time.
She stared out the window, bemused.
Word forms
| comparative | more bemused |
|---|---|
| superlative | most bemused |
Common combinations
- bemused smile
- She gave him a bemused smile.
- bemused expression
- His bemused expression showed he had no idea what happened.
- bemused by
- I was bemused by the long speech.
- look bemused
- The audience looked bemused.
- slightly bemused
- He was slightly bemused by the attention.
Synonyms and how they differ
- puzzled
- Puzzled is plain and neutral, while bemused often adds a hint of amused wonder.
- perplexed
- Perplexed suggests deeper, more troubled confusion than bemused.
- baffled
- Baffled is stronger and suggests being completely unable to understand.
- mystified
- Mystified suggests that something seems inexplicable, which is stronger than the mild puzzlement of bemused.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: bemused or amused? bemused or bewildered?
bemused vs amused
Amused means finding something funny. Bemused means puzzled, so do not use it for laughter.
bemused vs bewildered
Bewildered is stronger and means very confused, often to the point of panic.
Practice
The audience was ___ by the artist's strange, silent performance and could not tell what it meant.
Choose one answer.
Bemused means puzzled, which matches not understanding the meaning. Amused would mean they found it funny, which is the common mistake.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bemused”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.