What does bedazzled mean?
"Bedazzled" is the past tense and past participle of the verb "bedazzle," and it carries two main modern senses. Figuratively, it describes a person who has been overwhelmed with delight, wonder, or admiration — as when spectators are bedazzled by a dazzling performance or a breathtaking view. In contemporary informal usage, it also functions as an adjective for objects liberally decorated with sparkling materials such as sequins, rhinestones, or beads: a bedazzled handbag or jacket glitters with applied ornamentation. The word combines the intensive prefix "be-" with "dazzle," intensifying the effect from mere brightness to a kind of bewitching brilliance that can leave a person momentarily stunned or charmed. Its connotations are overwhelmingly positive, suggesting splendour, glamour, and spectacle, though it can occasionally imply being so dazzled as to lose judgment. It remains a vivid, expressive choice in both literary description and everyday speech.
To have dazzled, overwhelmed, or greatly charmed someone with brilliant light, beauty, or splendour.
"The jeweller's display bedazzled every customer who walked past the window."
Most common in figurative use; the literal sense of blinding light is now largely literary.
(Of a thing) Decorated with sparkling embellishments such as sequins or rhinestones; (of a person) filled with wonder or admiration.
"He arrived in a bedazzled cowboy shirt covered head to toe in rhinestones."
The ornamental sense is informal and strongly associated with fashion and craft contexts.
Shakespeare used it first — but the word got its glittering second life when rhinestone enthusiasts adopted it for anything covered in sparkles.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bedazzled
"Bedazzled" derives from the verb "bedazzle," formed in English from the intensive prefix "be-" attached to "dazzle," a word of frequentative origin related to "daze." The verb is attested by the late sixteenth century, with Shakespeare among its early users; the figurative sense of overwhelming someone with brilliance developed alongside the literal sense of blinding with light. The ornamental sense — adorned with sparkling trinkets — is a much later twentieth-century development, popularized by fashion and craft culture.
Related word forms
How bedazzled is actually used
The figurative sense (deeply impressed or enchanted) is standard in both formal and informal writing. The ornamental sense — describing clothing or accessories encrusted with sparkle — is informal and especially associated with fashion and craft contexts. The literal light-based sense survives mainly in literary use.
Easily confused with bedazzled
'Dazzled' means temporarily blinded or impressed, while 'bedazzled' adds the intensive prefix 'be-' and often carries a stronger sense of enchantment or of being covered in sparkling ornamentation.