Definition

1. Verb:
   • To astonish or bewilder completely: To cause someone to be so surprised or confused that they are temporarily unable to speak or react.
   • To be a mystery or bewildering to: To present something so puzzling or perplexing that it confounds understanding.

Usage

• The verb "dumbfound" is typically used in the passive voice (e.g., "I was dumbfounded") or as a past participle adjective ("a dumbfounded expression").
• It describes a reaction to something shocking, unexpected, or extremely confusing.
• It is a transitive verb, requiring a direct object (the person or people who are astonished).

Examples

• Verb (Active Voice):
  • The magician's final trick dumbfounded the entire audience.
  • Her sudden resignation dumbfounded her colleagues.
• Verb (Common Passive/Adjectival Use):
  • We were dumbfounded by the jury's unexpected verdict.
  • He stood there with a dumbfounded look on his face.

Advanced Usage

• "to be dumbfounded at/by something": To be utterly amazed or bewildered by a specific thing.
  • Scientists were dumbfounded by the discovery of the new species.
• "dumbfounding" (Adjective): Describing something that causes astonishment or bewilderment.
  • The complexity of the plot was dumbfounding.

Variants and Related Words

• Dumbfounded (Adjective): Filled with astonishment or bewilderment.
  • The dumbfounded crowd could only stare.
• Dumbfounder (Noun, rare): One who or that which dumbfounds.
• Dumbfounding (Adjective): Causing dumbfoundedness.

Synonyms

• Astonish: To fill with sudden wonder or amazement.
• Astound: To overwhelm with amazement.
• Flabbergast: To overcome with surprise and bewilderment.
• Stun: To shock or astonish.
• Bewilder: To cause to become confused or perplexed.

Antonyms

• Enlighten: To give intellectual or spiritual insight.
• Clarify: To make clear or understandable.
• Bore: To cause to feel weary and uninterested.

Idioms and Phrases

• "To be struck dumbfounded": An emphatic way to express being rendered speechless by surprise.
  • The news of the merger struck the employees dumbfounded.

Verb

1. be a mystery or bewildering to
   • This beats me!
   • Got me--I don't know the answer!
   • a vexing problem
   • This question really stuck me