baffle
[baf-uh l]
- 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.
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- to struggle ineffectually, as a ship in a gale.
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- 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.
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Origin of baffle
Synonyms
See more synonyms for baffle on Thesaurus.com1. See thwart.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for baffled
Contemporary Examples
Servis, a general contractor, was baffled by how introverted Stone acted.
Still other critics are baffled that Borges was influenced by such strange and disparate sources.
Martin Amis is not baffled by the modern world; he observes it with precision.
Baffled by the jargon-heavy consumer information manual, I chatted with Cheryl Luptowski from the NSF consumer affairs office.
Putin said in late April that he was baffled that the Americans were targeting the Russian oligarchs.
Historical Examples
If the nation was determined it would not be baffled by the Peers.
The Grand Old ManRichard B. Cook
Tories and Peers especially were enraged, and regarded themselves as baffled.
The Grand Old ManRichard B. Cook
It had seemed to baffle the others; it baffled the big man now.
Way of the LawlessMax Brand
She leaned back in her chair, and surveyed the baffled man amusedly.
Within the LawMarvin Dana
Bartlett sat there for one moment the picture of baffled rage.
In the Midst of AlarmsRobert Barr
baffle
- 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
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- 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
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Word Origin
C16: perhaps from Scottish dialect bachlen to condemn publicly; perhaps related to French bafouer to disgrace
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for baffled
baffle
v.
1540s, "to disgrace," perhaps a Scottish respelling of bauchle "to disgrace publicly" (especially a perjured knight), which is probably related to French bafouer "to abuse, hoodwink" (16c.), possibly from baf, a natural sound of disgust, like bah (cf. German baff machen "to flabbergast"). Meaning "to bewilder, confuse" is from 1640s; that of "to defeat someone's efforts" is from 1670s. Related: Baffled; baffling.
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baffle
n.
"shielding device," 1881, from baffle (v.).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper