bemuse.

1. To leave someone puzzled or uncertain about how to understand what is happening.

2. To occupy someone's attention so fully that their awareness of other things is distracted.

3. To cause someone to respond with wry, tolerant, or slightly detached amusement.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• bemuse an observer
• a bemused expression
• thoroughly bemused

On the page

Her sudden change of mood bemused him.

The visitors looked bemused by the unfamiliar ritual.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary / elevated prose. Lexical Type: Word. Forms: bemuse; bemuses; bemused; bemused; bemusing Commonness: moderately common (editorial estimate; not a corpus frequency statistic). Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1; numbered fields keep each relevant meaning separate. Research distinction: Direct dictionary reading: confuse/puzzle/bewilder; occupy attention/distract/absorb; cause wry or tolerant amusement. Newer amusement use is established but contested by some readers, as the source explains. Three distinctions preserved. Individual usefulness checked for a precise literary, narrative, dialogue or critical function. Definitions and examples are original; commonness is an editorial estimate. Mood and intensity apply only to inherent qualities of the specific sense. Writing functions: a puzzled response, distinguishing preoccupation from wry amusement. Third-person singular: bemuses.