bewilderment

[ bih-wil-der-muh nt ]

/ bɪˈwɪl dər mənt /

bewildered state.

a confusing maze or tangle, as of objects or conditions: a bewilderment of smoke, noise, and pushing people.

Origin of bewilderment

First recorded in 1810–20; bewilder + -ment

As a result, the water sank into the ground, prompting migratory cranes to issue calls of “grief and bewilderment.”

Visiting the Arctic Circle…Before It’s Irreversibly Changed |Terry Greene Sterling |April 1, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
There were two modes of being with him, I think it was seduction on the one hand and bewilderment on the other.

The Perils of Being a Hemingway Wife |Nico Hines |February 23, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The billions of snippets of sadness and bewilderment spinning across the Net confirm who this amazing boy was to all of us.

The Swartz Family’s Statement and More Reactions to the Death of Aaron Swartz | |January 13, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
As he sifted through the papers, Michael felt “no anger, just bewilderment,” he told me.

Does Jeffrey MacDonald Belong in Jail? |Megan McArdle |January 3, 2013 |DAILY BEAST

By 1996, Haitians were scratching their heads in bewilderment, asking themselves Why has America come to save us?

Bill Clinton's Shameful Haiti Legacy |Bob Shacochis |January 19, 2010 |DAILY BEAST
Her countenance expressed surprise and bewilderment that no chick was in sight.

Elsie at Ion |Martha Finley
Another, followed by fully twenty other savages, their gruesome faces showing surprise and bewilderment at sight of the youths.

Lost in the Wilds of Brazil |James H. Foster
With a touch of secret elation he knows he could make this woman worship him like a bond slave while the bewilderment lasted.

Floyd Grandon's Honor |Amanda Minnie Douglas
I gazed at him in bewilderment; ready to laugh if he meant to be jocular, incredulous of his serious intention.

The Abandoned Farmer |Sydney Herman Preston
She was herself lost in a whirl of bewilderment, and of mingled hope and fear.

Cobwebs and Cables |Hesba Stretton