dumbfound

English

WOTD – 21 October 2009

Alternative forms

• dumfound

Etymology

Blend of dumb +‎ confound

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌdʌmˈfaʊnd/, /ˈdʌm.faʊnd/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈdʌm.faʊnd/

• Audio (US):

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• Audio (General Australian):

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Verb

dumbfound (third-person singular simple present dumbfounds, present participle dumbfounding, simple past and past participle dumbfounded)

1. (transitive) To confuse and bewilder; to leave speechless.
   • 1989 December 3, Franklin Kameny, “Prostitution: Good, Right, And Desirable”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 21, page 5:

     A bunch of nice, middle-class women debated on how to "rescue" prostitutes from their "terrible" fate. By invitation, the conference was attended by a number of prostitutes, who dumbfounded those nice, bourgeois ladies by making it clear that they had no desire whatever to be "rescued"

Synonyms

• strike dumb
• flabbergast

Derived terms

• dumbfounder
• dumbfoundment

Translations

to confuse and bewilder

• Armenian: շշմեցնել (hy) (ššmecʻnel), ապշեցնել (hy) (apšecʻnel)
• Bulgarian: смайвам (bg) (smajvam), слисвам (bg) (slisvam)
• Danish: forbløffe (da), lamslå
• Dutch: verstomd doen staan
• Finnish: mykistää (fi), lyödä ällikällä (fi)
• French: abasourdir (fr)
• Galician: abouxar (gl)
• Ido: surprizegar (io)
• Italian: sbigottire (it)
• Latin: obstupefaciō
• Maori: whakahanepī
• Portuguese: pasmar (pt)
• Russian: ошеломлять (ru) (ošelomljatʹ), ошарашивать (ru) (ošarašivatʹ)
• Spanish: dejar boquiabierto, dejar pasmado