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Showing results for bemused. Search instead for Perused.
Synonyms

bemused

American  
[bih-myoozd] / bɪˈmyuzd /

adjective

  1. bewildered or confused.

    a bemused expression on his face.

  2. lost in thought; preoccupied.

  3. mildly amused, especially in a detached way.

bemused British  
/ bɪˈmjuːzd, bɪˈmjuːzɪdlɪ /

adjective

  1. preoccupied; lost in thought

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Commonly Confused

See bemuse.

Other Word Forms

  • bemusedly adverb
  • unbemused adjective

Etymology

Origin of bemused

First recorded in 1695–1705; bemuse + -ed 2

Compare meaning

How does bemused compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

She stumbled over several words and spoke about everything from the price of coffee in Italy to iguanas in the United States, leaving her co-hosts in the studio bemused.

From Barron's • Feb. 19, 2026

We can't help but feel slightly bemused, however, that one other film in particular missed out.

From BBC • Jan. 22, 2026

Mr. Swift’s bemused account of the Burbage-Brayne partnership is one of several aspects of the book that erase the distance between 16th-century Shoreditch and 21st-century Broadway.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025

Body-cam footage released by the Parma Heights Police Department shows one bemused officer describing how the gourd just “took off” as he tried to grab it.

From Salon • Oct. 12, 2025

Will, still bemused by the blessed cool numbness in his hand, tried to sit up and look at him.

From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.