baffle
Americanverb (used with object)
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baffles,
present (3rd person singular)
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baffled,
past participle, past
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baffling
present participle
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to confuse, bewilder, or perplex.
He was baffled by the technical language of the instructions.
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to frustrate or confound; thwart by creating confusion or bewilderment.
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to check or deflect the movement of (sound, light, fluids, etc.).
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to equip with a baffle or baffles.
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Obsolete. to cheat; trick.
verb (used without object)
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baffles,
present (3rd person singular)
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baffled,
past participle, past
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baffling
present participle
noun
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baffles
plural
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something that balks, checks, or deflects.
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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.
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any boxlike enclosure or flat panel for mounting a loudspeaker.
verb
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to perplex; bewilder; puzzle
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to frustrate (plans, efforts, etc)
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to check, restrain, or regulate (the flow of a fluid or the emission of sound or light)
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to provide with a baffle
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obsolete to cheat or trick
noun
Usage
What does baffle mean? Baffle means to confuse, bewilder, perplex, or confound. The word usually implies that such confusion causes someone to come to standstill—that it stumps them or makes them completely bewildered. You might be baffled by a difficult riddle or confusing instructions. People’s strange behavior might baffle you. The term is often used in the context of experts or scientists being baffled by some newly discovered thing or phenomenon—one they can’t figure out or comprehend. Someone or something that baffles can be described as baffling. As a verb, baffle can also mean to deflect or regulate the movement or flow of something, such as gas or light. The word can also be used as a noun referring to a component or part that does this. Example: This door is completely baffling! I can never figure out how to get it unlocked.
Synonym Usage
See thwart.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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bafflementnoun
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bafflernoun
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bafflingnessnoun
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bafflingadjective
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unbafflingadjective
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bafflinglyadverb
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unbafflinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bafflesimple
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bafflessimple
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have baffledperfect
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has baffledperfect
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am bafflingprogressive
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are bafflingprogressive
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is bafflingprogressive
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have been bafflingperfect progressive
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has been bafflingperfect progressive
Past
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baffledsimple
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had baffledperfect
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was bafflingprogressive
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were bafflingprogressive
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had been bafflingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of baffle
First recorded in 1540–50; 1910–15 baffle for def. 8; perhaps from Scots bauchle “to disgrace, treat with contempt,” equivalent to bauch ( see baff) + -le
Explanation
To baffle is to confuse. If you are completely puzzled as to what baffle means, you might say that this word baffles you. Baffle means "confuse," but it can also mean "amaze." A magician might baffle you with an impressive magic trick. Additionally, this verb can mean "to spoil, thwart, or defeat by means of confusion." In a debate, you might baffle the opposition by introducing new information that your opponents are not familiar with. Baffle can also be used like stump. If you are stumped by a question on a test, then you’ve been baffled by that question.
Vocabulary lists containing baffle
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Eventually, Ver’s team and Bhirud hit on the deal that would baffle criminal tax experts.
From Salon ● Jan. 23, 2026
He empathizes with people born in the 1940s who feel irrelevant, since even 20-year-olds now baffle him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2025
The question of how these two—a vulgar revolutionary and a soft-spoken, polite epitome of the GOP old guard—have stayed together for so long, with such limited drama between them, can baffle observers.
From Slate ● Jan. 20, 2025
Fans are entitled to expect the technology to reduce the errors by highlighting the obvious mistakes, not baffle them with science.
From BBC ● May 6, 2024
‘That would not baffle a Ranger,’ said Gimli.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
"As a mother myself, I feel like we already have to deal with a lot. We don't have the mental health support that we should have. It just baffles and really saddens me," she added.
From BBC ● May 6, 2026
Giant steel pipe’s mysterious overnight growth spurt baffles a Japanese city.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 16, 2026
Among them is Clarence Willard, billed in a 1920s Vaudeville advertisement as “the man who grows” and “completely baffles all medical and scientific experts.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2025
Yet still he baffles and wrongfoots people, both opponents and more neutral observers, political professionals and voters, Americans and foreigners.
From Salon ● Mar. 17, 2025
After bringing the RTG into the Hab, I very carefully glued some tubing around the heat baffles.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
Michael O'Neill has said he was "baffled" by some of the refereeing decisions in Friday's 1-0 win in Georgia.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
A baffled Erika felt that her mom had been replaced with a combative and paranoid stranger.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
“It always baffled me how some people managed to retire with significant wealth.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Because of that, it always baffled me how some people managed to retire with significant wealth.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026
She gave Yishan a baffled look, but rolled the string off her wrist and handed it to him.
From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin
Chutzpah, however, is sometimes all it takes to get this kind of baffling, brazen and potentially exploitative deal across the finish line.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
She said the authority found the shift towards more fly-tipping "baffling" and said they were struggling to "figure out how to talk to people" about the issue.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
When mediocrity is the core objective of an extremely powerful company like this one, success hinges on turning the once-discerning viewer into a machine cog as mindless as one of Netflix’s baffling originals.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
Ms. Lowrey highlights the inept and baffling design of many of these programs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
Another couple came up to the window, and judging by the baffling all-white face makeup one of them was wearing, they were probably there for the Spirited Away screening.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
