baffle
to confuse, bewilder, or perplex: He was baffled by the technical language of the instructions.
to frustrate or confound; thwart by creating confusion or bewilderment.
to check or deflect the movement of (sound, light, fluids, etc.).
to equip with a baffle or baffles.
Obsolete. to cheat; trick.
to struggle ineffectually, as a ship in a gale.
something that balks, checks, or deflects.
an artificial obstruction for checking or deflecting the flow of gases (as in a boiler), sounds (as in the loudspeaker system of a radio or hi-fi set), light (as in a darkroom), etc.
any boxlike enclosure or flat panel for mounting a loudspeaker.
Origin of baffle
1synonym study For baffle
Other words from baffle
- baf·fle·ment, noun
- baf·fler, noun
- baf·fling, adjective
- baf·fling·ly, adverb
- baf·fling·ness, noun
- un·baf·fling, adjective
- un·baf·fling·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use baffle in a sentence
He is not entirely surprised that brown tree snakes have devised a way to deal with wide trees or baffles.
Newfound technique allows some tree snakes to climb wide trees | Maria Temming | February 1, 2021 | Science News For StudentsIt might appear senseless but that is appearance only, our bafflement before such barbarity.
Senseless. Evil. Silver Linings. Our Misguided Terms of Terror. | William Giraldi | April 23, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThis accounts for some of the bafflement that occasionally greets Bachmann's statements.
To say I felt foolish, would inadequately express my sense of utter bafflement.
The Sorrows of Satan | Marie CorelliHis voice sounded odd and tired, and there was an ache of bafflement in his young eyes.
David Dunne | Belle Kanaris Maniates
A flutter of bafflement showed in her black lashes, but the lips continued to twitch mischievously.
The Heritage of the Hills | Arthur P. HankinsIt was fixed first on Mlanie, then on Agatha, then returned to Mlanie with an added increment of rage and bafflement.
The Stolen Singer | Martha Idell Fletcher BellingerWise was very grave and silent,—he was in a mood which Zizi knew was that of utter bafflement.
The Vanishing of Betty Varian | Carolyn Wells
British Dictionary definitions for baffle
/ (ˈbæfəl) /
to perplex; bewilder; puzzle
to frustrate (plans, efforts, etc)
to check, restrain, or regulate (the flow of a fluid or the emission of sound or light)
to provide with a baffle
obsolete to cheat or trick
Also called: baffle board, baffle plate a plate or mechanical device designed to restrain or regulate the flow of a fluid, the emission of light or sound, or the distribution of sound, esp in a loudspeaker or microphone
Origin of baffle
1Derived forms of baffle
- bafflement, noun
- baffler, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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