Bemaze

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To leave someone completely bewildered, so that they cannot think clearly or understand what is happening
2. To puzzle and confound a person so thoroughly that they lose their sense of direction in thought
3. Causing a person to feel utterly baffled and mentally stunned, unable to find a clear way forward

Etymology: "Bemaze" is built from the prefix "be-" and the noun "maze," and its roots reach back to Middle English. The prefix "be-" was a productive English device for turning nouns and adjectives into verbs, usually with the sense of covering, surrounding, or affecting something thoroughly, as in "bedew" or "befriend." Attached to "maze," it produced a verb meaning to bewilder or confuse someone completely, as if they had been lost in a labyrinth. The underlying noun "maze" is the more elusive part of the picture, and its own origin is uncertain. The verb it produced, however, kept its literal sense of leaving someone wandering and disoriented, which is exactly what the figurative use still conveys.

Synonyms: bewilder, confuse, perplex, bemuse, mystify

Antonyms: enlighten, clarify