Bemused and amused are two words that can be used to describe a person or situation that is “amused” or “delighted”.
The confusion arises because the two are used to mean different things, and in the process of reading and writing, these words can get confused. In this article, we will look at what bemused means and when it is used.
Summary Table
| Bemused | Amused |
| Means that someone is feeling confused and surprised. | Means that someone thinks of something as funny, pleasurable, or entertaining. |
| Implies confusion and bewilderment. | Implies that there is something interesting. |
Definitions
Bemused is defined as “struck dumb with wonder”. In this sense bemused means to be taken by surprise. A noun phrase that means the same as bemused is astonished. The adjective stunned can also be used to mean the same thing.
The word bemused means “in a state of wonder or amazement”. This can be a noun phrase meaning “a state of wonder” or an adjective phrase meaning “wonderful” or “amazing”. The adjective stunned is also sometimes used to mean the same thing.
Amused is defined as “to make happy, cheerful, or content” (Random House Dictionary). Amusing is also defined as being “causing delight, delighted” and in this sense, it means that a person or situation has been touched by something.
Difference Between Bemused and Amused
The confusion between the two words comes from the fact that both bemused and amused mean to have feelings or to be affected by something. This makes it very easy for people to confuse the two words.
To help avoid confusion, it is better that you try and use one of the words when you want to describe a person or situation who is happy, amused, or in a state of being surprised, while the other word is used when you want to describe a person or situation who has been puzzled by something.
These two words are often used in similar situations. For example, you can use these two words to describe a person who is startled by something or someone that they didn’t expect to happen.
Also, you can use these two words to describe a person who is surprised by an unexpected turn of events.
So, when it comes to describing someone or something that is amused, confused, surprised, or surprised, bemused and amused are the words that you should use.
