- present participle of baffle.
baffling
Britishadjective
Other Word Forms
Explanation
If something is baffling, it's completely confusing or mysterious. You might find your friend's hatred for the taste of chocolate utterly baffling. A good mystery novel begins with a baffling crime — one that seems at first nearly impossible to solve. You might also find your math homework baffling or wander around the baffling snarl of streets in a city with no idea where you are. The earliest meaning of baffling was nautical, describing winds blowing in all directions. It comes from the verb baffle, which first meant "to disgrace" before it came to mean "to confuse."
Vocabulary lists containing baffling
This Week in Words: January 27 - February 2, 2018
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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.
Ms. Lowrey highlights the inept and baffling design of many of these programs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
It will go down as a baffling missed opportunity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
The recklessness of the fourth evening was made more baffling by the orthodox manner in which England went about their business on Monday.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
Even more baffling is the fact that just one week ago a mountain lion was found in a residential area of Santa Monica, which similarly prompted shelter-in-place warnings for people living nearby.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 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.
