Arabic word sheet
عَمِهَ
To wander without seeing one’s way
- Type
- verb
- Root
- ع م ه
Meaning and usage
To wander without seeing one’s way
To be so bewildered that one no longer sees which way to go, and to go to and fro without getting anywhere. Said of someone lost on the road as well as of someone who persists in a wrong course.
عَمِهَ الْمُسَافِرُ فِي الصَّحْرَاءِ لَيْلَةً كَامِلَةً.
The traveller wandered lost in the desert for a whole night.
To be at a loss for what to say
In a dispute or a lawsuit, to fail to find the right argument, to stand confused with no answer to give.
عَمِهَ الشَّاهِدُ أَمَامَ الْقَاضِي فَسَكَتَ.
The witness was at a loss before the judge and fell silent.
Word family
What the root means ع م ه
The root carries the idea of being lost and bewildered, going to and fro without seeing the right way; it concerns the mind’s sight rather than the eyes’. From it come “bewilderment”, “to wander in confusion” and land “without landmarks”.
bewilderment, confusion
عَمَهٌ
to wander in confusion
تَعَامَهَ
without landmarks (of land)
عَمْهَاءُ
Synonyms
to stray, to get lost
تَاهَ
It says above all that one has lost the road, without stressing the confusion of mind or the going to and fro.
to be perplexed, not to know what to do
حَارَ
It names the perplexity of someone hesitating between several courses, without the picture of going to and fro blindly.
Opposites
to find the right way
اِهْتَدَى