bemuse
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From be- + muse. In meaning, influenced by bemaze.
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Verb
bemuse (third-person singular simple present bemuses, present participle bemusing, simple past and past participle bemused)
- (transitive) To confuse or bewilder.
- "For God's sake, why do people keep using 'bemused' as if it means 'amused'?" asked the bemused editor.
- 1735 A parson much be-mus'd in beer. — Alexander Pope, Satires of Dr. Donne versified
- 1771 [With] fairy tales bemused the shepherd lies. — James Foot, Penseroso
- 1847 The bad metaphysics with which they bemuse themselves. — Hugh Miller, First Impressions of England and its people
- (archaic, humorous) To devote to the Muses.
- 1705 When those incorrigible things, Poets, are once irrecoverably Be-mus'd. — Alexander Pope, Letters
[edit] Translations
to confuse or bewilder
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to devote to the Muses
