as in confusing
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in bewildering
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
troops disoriented by the sudden change in battle plans
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of disorienting
Rob Salkowitz, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
His face is always changing, always disorienting her.
—Honor Jones, The Atlantic, 7 Dec. 2024
The filmmaking craft is a considerable step up here from Smile, with returning DP Charlie Sarroff making clever use of disorienting angles and mirror shots, and again flipping the frame upside-down as Skye begins unraveling.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Oct. 2024
Adopting a minimalist style that employes lots of tight framing, director Randall Okita and his cinematographers (Jordan Oram and Jackson Parrell) use the camera to mirror Sophie’s impairment, creating for a claustrophobic and disorienting aesthetic.
—Travis Bean, Forbes, 5 Oct. 2024
The disorienting tone is set immediately by pilot director Jordan Vogt-Roberts.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Oct. 2024
Over the past four decades, Chile has made a disorienting journey from state of terror to hopeful democracy to queasy malaise.
—Carolina A. Miranda, The Atlantic, 18 Oct. 2024
Verb
The spiraling hall-of-mirrors approach can sometime be disorienting but Baker’s sheer conviction carries it across.
—Rob Salkowitz, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
His face is always changing, always disorienting her.
—Honor Jones, The Atlantic, 7 Dec. 2024
The filmmaking craft is a considerable step up here from Smile, with returning DP Charlie Sarroff making clever use of disorienting angles and mirror shots, and again flipping the frame upside-down as Skye begins unraveling.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Oct. 2024
Adopting a minimalist style that employes lots of tight framing, director Randall Okita and his cinematographers (Jordan Oram and Jackson Parrell) use the camera to mirror Sophie’s impairment, creating for a claustrophobic and disorienting aesthetic.
—Travis Bean, Forbes, 5 Oct. 2024
The disorienting tone is set immediately by pilot director Jordan Vogt-Roberts.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Oct. 2024
Over the past four decades, Chile has made a disorienting journey from state of terror to hopeful democracy to queasy malaise.
—Carolina A. Miranda, The Atlantic, 18 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disorienting
Adjective
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This perplexing synergy triggers everything from mixed signals and missed messages to an overwhelming feeling that something’s just a bit… off.—
Valerie Mesa,
People.com,
19 Feb. 2025
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In almost no time Sophie and Laura had managed to untie one knot, only to find a tighter and far more perplexing one at its center.—
Hannah Gold,
Harper's Magazine,
19 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Researchers are particularly focused on unraveling the puzzling interplay between gas content, magma pressure and lava flow dynamics.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
3 Jan. 2025
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Almost two years into his ordeal, Gould learned of an initiative at the National Institutes of Health that focuses on solving the country’s most puzzling medical cases.—
Jason Liebowitz,
The Atlantic,
2 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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One huge factor here is that Wilds did not have a somewhat baffling Switch-only launch like Rise did, accounting for almost all of this huge sales gap.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes,
4 Mar. 2025
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Even more baffling: Lemons went back to work just three weeks later!—
Sydney Bucksbaum,
EW.com,
28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Trump’s sense of his own royalty helps explain at least some of the bewildering changes of recent days.—
Bill McKibben,
The New Yorker,
20 Feb. 2025
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All of the above is being considered in isolation without the bewildering problems of domestic politics and foreign policy.—
David Szondy,
New Atlas,
6 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Trump has not commented on the military base plan specifically but delivered an ambiguous answer this week to a question regarding the use of private companies to assist with deportations.—
David Catanese,
Miami Herald,
28 Feb. 2025
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The film has proven divisive, though, with some audiences puzzled by its breakneck tonal shifts and ambiguous ending.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Ledger ingeniously plays the Joker as a chaotic force of nature, a scarred and unknowable ghoul clad in clown paint and a garish suit from Demon's Wearhouse.—
Brian Truitt,
USA TODAY,
28 Feb. 2025
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Durant is an avid guardian of his feelings, perennially declaring the off-limits and unknowable.—
Marcus Thompson II,
The Athletic,
19 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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In a twist that’s almost incomprehensible today, the Chinese government even officially adopted the US State Department’s method for reporting air quality.—
Zeyi Yang,
WIRED,
5 Mar. 2025
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This defendant’s actions are incomprehensible, and he will be held accountable.—
Stepheny Price,
Fox News,
18 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Disorienting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disorienting. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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