baffle

[baf-uh l]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR baffle ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), baf·fled, baf·fling.

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.

verb (used without object), baf·fled, baf·fling.

to struggle ineffectually, as a ship in a gale.

noun

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

1540–50; 1910–15 for def 8; perhaps < Scots bauchle to disgrace, treat with contempt, equivalent to bauch (see baff) + -le

Related formsbaf·fle·ment, nounbaf·fler, nounbaf·fling, adjectivebaf·fling·ly, adverbbaf·fling·ness, nounun·baf·fled, adjectiveun·baf·fling, adjectiveun·baf·fling·ly, adverb

Synonyms for baffle

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR baffle ON THESAURUS.COM

1. See thwart.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for bafflement

perplexity, confusion, disorientation, puzzlement, predicament, stress, anxiety, embarrassment, inconvenience, complication, setback, strife, pressure, struggle, frustration, misery, trouble, crisis, worry, blow

Examples from the Web for bafflement

Contemporary Examples of bafflement

It 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
This accounts for some of the bafflement that occasionally greets Bachmann's statements.
Bachmann's Unrivaled Extremism
Michelle Goldberg
June 15, 2011

Historical Examples of bafflement

She held out her hand for the bank-note which, with a sense of bafflement, he gave her.
The Place of Honeymoons
Harold MacGrath
Mike took heart, his experience believed and his bafflement shared.
Mr. Wicker's Window
Carley Dawson
Dick shook his head in bafflement, and glanced at his watch.
The Little Lady of the Big House
Jack London
Kirk ran his fingers through his hair in a gesture of bafflement.
Twelve Times Zero
Howard Carleton Browne
His voice sounded odd and tired, and there was an ache of bafflement in his young eyes.
David Dunne
Belle Kanaris Maniates

British Dictionary definitions for bafflement

baffle

verb (tr)

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

noun

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

Derived Formsbafflement, nounbaffler, noun

Word Origin for baffle

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for bafflement

1841, from baffle (v.) + -ment.

baffle

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.

baffle

"shielding device," 1881, from baffle (v.).