bamboozle
verb
bam·boo·zle bam-ˈbü-zəl 
bamboozled; bamboozling bam-ˈbüz-liŋ
-ˈbü-zə-
transitive verb
1
: to deceive by underhanded methods : dupe, hoodwink
I got bamboozled by the salesperson to buy a more expensive model.
2
: to confuse, frustrate, or throw off thoroughly or completely
a quarterback bamboozled by an unexpected defense
bamboozlement
bam-ˈbü-zəl-mənt
noun 
Did you know?
In 1710, Irish author Jonathan Swift wrote an article on "the continual Corruption of our English Tongue" in which he complained of "the Choice of certain Words invented by some pretty Fellows." Among the inventions Swift disliked was bamboozle, which was used by contemporary criminals. Other than that, the origin of bamboozle remains a mystery, but the word has clearly defied Swift's assertion that "All new affected Modes of Speech ... are the first perishing Parts in any Language."
Synonyms
- beguile
- bluff
- buffalo
- burn
- catch
- con
- cozen
- deceive
- delude
- dupe
- fake out
- fool
- gaff
- gammon
- gull
- have
- have on [chiefly British]
- hoax
- hoodwink
- hornswoggle
- humbug
- juggle
- misguide
- misinform
- mislead
- snooker
- snow
- spoof
- string along
- suck in
- sucker
- take in
- trick
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
bamboozled by con men into buying worthless land in the desert I'm completely bamboozled by the latest changes in the tax code
Recent Examples on the Web Meanwhile, celebrities attempt to bamboozle each other in this new game show. 
Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2022 Meanwhile, celebrities attempt to bamboozle each other in this new game show. Tribune News Service, cleveland, 3 Apr. 2022 Watch as The Colonel attempts to bamboozle audiences and the media by replacing his golden goose with an impersonator. Austin Taylor, San Antonio Express-News, 21 Jan. 2022 And school districts have the right to formally challenge property owners who might be trying to bamboozle the boards of revision. cleveland, 1 Jan. 2022 Variant mutations that would totally bamboozle antibodies can’t always fool T cells, which means a lot more of them will be fairly Omicron-proof, Gralinski told me. Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2021 Even if my body retained a perfect memory of my vaccines’ contents, these changes might still bamboozle it. Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2021 The virus, too, will keep changing, and could one day bamboozle even bodies whose immune safeguards remain intact. Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 6 Aug. 2021 The point is not to confuse or bamboozle people, but to eventually find a way to think that makes more sense and is a little less murky. Stephon Alexander, Wired, 31 Aug. 2021 See More
Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2022 Meanwhile, celebrities attempt to bamboozle each other in this new game show. Tribune News Service, cleveland, 3 Apr. 2022 Watch as The Colonel attempts to bamboozle audiences and the media by replacing his golden goose with an impersonator. Austin Taylor, San Antonio Express-News, 21 Jan. 2022 And school districts have the right to formally challenge property owners who might be trying to bamboozle the boards of revision. cleveland, 1 Jan. 2022 Variant mutations that would totally bamboozle antibodies can’t always fool T cells, which means a lot more of them will be fairly Omicron-proof, Gralinski told me. Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2021 Even if my body retained a perfect memory of my vaccines’ contents, these changes might still bamboozle it. Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2021 The virus, too, will keep changing, and could one day bamboozle even bodies whose immune safeguards remain intact. Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 6 Aug. 2021 The point is not to confuse or bamboozle people, but to eventually find a way to think that makes more sense and is a little less murky. Stephon Alexander, Wired, 31 Aug. 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
origin unknown
First Known Use
1703, in the meaning defined at sense 1
bamboozling
verb
1
as in tricking
to cause to believe what is untrue bamboozled by con men into buying worthless land in the desert Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- tricking
- fooling
- deceiving
- hoodwinking
- misleading
- duping
- conning
- gulling
- misinforming
- deluding
- teasing
- misguiding
- suckering
- snookering
- kidding
- beguiling
- hoaxing
- humbugging
- juggling
- bluffing
- cozening
- cheating
- catching
- gaffing
- stinging
- spoofing
- having
- gammoning
- stringing along
- sucking in
- snowing
- hornswoggling
- burning
- taking in
- buffaloing
- having on
- defrauding
- fleecing
- swindling
- faking out
- shortchanging
- leading one up the garden path
- leading one down the garden path
- pulling one's leg
- doing a number on
- mulcting
- pulling the wool over one's eyes
- sticking
- rooking
- hustling
- diddling
- putting on
- bleeding
- chiseling
- flimflamming
- squeezing
- skinning
- chiselling
- euchring
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- exposing
- revealing
- debunking
- uncovering
- unmasking
- telling
- disclosing
- divulging
- undeceiving
- disillusioning
- disabusing
- unveiling
- showing up
- uncloaking
- disenchanting
2
as in baffling
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty I'm completely bamboozled by the latest changes in the tax code Synonyms & Similar Words
- baffling
- bewildering
- puzzling
- perplexing
- confusing
- befuddling
- mystifying
- confounding
- embarrassing
- muddling
- flummoxing
- flustering
- bemusing
- discombobulating
- disorienting
- vexing
- posing
- muddying
- bothering
- fuddling
- rattling
- addling
- stunning
- disturbing
- getting
- upsetting
- graveling
- befogging
- mazing
- beating
- unsettling
- stumping
- buffaloing
- gravelling
- foxing
- hoodwinking
- sticking
- blowing one's mind
- disconcerting
- fooling
- tricking
- misleading
- duping
- distressing
- discomfiting
- gulling
- deceiving
- deluding
- going to one's head
- agitating
- mortifying
- perturbing
- misguiding
- dismaying
- beguiling
- disquieting
- discomforting
- hoaxing
- humbugging
- fazing
- unhinging
- cozening
- abashing
- discomposing
- discountenancing
- nonplussing
- nonplusing
- weirding out
- chagrining
- snowing
- stringing along
- taking in
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- informing
- assuring
- satisfying
- reassuring
- enlightening