flummoxed
Americanadjective
verb
Etymology
Origin of flummoxed
First recorded in 1835–40; flummox ( def. ) + -ed 2 ( def. ) flummoxed for def. 1, and flummox ( def. ) + -ed 1 flummoxed for def. 2
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.
The chief of detectives, Louis Cottell, for his part, made no effort to hide how flummoxed he was by the killer’s refusal to take credit.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
The causes of endometriosis have left our best doctors and scientists totally flummoxed: no-one in the world knows definitively how and when it begins in a woman's body.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
It’s a seemingly simple thing to set up, but when I asked him where he wanted to eat, he was flummoxed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026
But even though these systems have mastered chess, conquered Go and unfolded nearly all of the known proteins in the universe, they were initially flummoxed by the mere concept of a bracket.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026
The attention flummoxed state officials, who were still struggling to cast North Carolina as “different” from the Deep South.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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.
