Definition of "befuddle" [be•fud•dle]

• To confuse; perplex. See Synonyms at confuse. (verb-transitive)
• To stupefy with or as if with alcoholic drink. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "He said the survey "raised the bar" for other surveys and challenged the polling industry not to "befuddle" politicians, voters and opinion-makers."
• "But he worries that they can be misused, misinterpreted and even befuddle someone who is truly inebriated."
• "Only in the first Brahms did the composer's characteristic nightmare of cross-rhythms befuddle the chorus."