Dictionary

bemusement en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /bɪ-/
• /bəˈmjuːzmənt/

Etymology

Etymology tree English bemuse Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥tom Proto-Italic *-mentom Latin -mentum Old French -mentbor. Middle English -ment English -ment English bemusement From bemuse + -ment.

Meanings

1. The state of being bemused.
   • Wrex touches his grandfather's armor, his expression… thoughtful, perhaps? Krogan are hard to read. Then he shakes off his bemusement and grips his gun with renewed purpose. 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Tuntau:
   • The response to this latest scandal has taken a familiar turn, dividing along gender lines. While senior women have condemned it, many of the Financial Times’ (male) readers have expressed unhappy bemusement at finding this article on the front page. 2018 January 25, Amelia Gentleman, “Men-only clubs and menace: how the establishment maintains male power”, in the Guardian:
   • Near-synonyms: preoccupation, perplexity, bewilderment, speechlessness (all sometimes overlapping in meaning)

Forms

Synonyms

preoccupation · speechlessness · bewilderment · perplexity

Translations (11)

de Nachdenklichkeit (state of being bemused) · de Irritierung (state of being bemused) · bg смайване (state of being bemused) · fr préoccupation (state of being bemused) · de Verblüffung (state of being bemused) · de Verwunderung (state of being bemused) · bg объркване (state of being bemused) · bg слисване (state of being bemused) · de Verwirrung (state of being bemused) · nl bezorgdheid (state of being bemused) · fi hämmennys (state of being bemused)