mind-boggling
Americanadjective
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intellectually overwhelming.
a mind-boggling puzzle.
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emotionally or psychologically overwhelming; mind-blowing.
adjective
Usage
What does mind-boggling mean? Mind-boggling means utterly overwhelming to the mind or extremely difficult to understand or comprehend. The verb boggle means to overwhelm or bewilder, such as with complexity or abnormality. Things are often described as mind-boggling when they’re incredibly complex or exist on a scale that’s impossible to comprehend or “wrap your head around.”A similar term is mind-blowing. Mind-blowing is usually used to describe things that are impressive, whereas mind-boggling usually describes things that are confusing or hard to even think about. Still, the terms are often used interchangeably. The related verb phrase boggle the mind means to astound or be incomprehensible, as in His behavior really boggles the mind sometimes—I can’t begin to understand his motivation for doing the things he does. Example: The size and scale of the universe is mind-boggling—it’s impossible to grasp its magnitude.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of mind-boggling
First recorded in 1960–65
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.
“I haven’t seen any street vendors in the past three days, which is mind boggling to me because I live in Echo Park and they’re everywhere there usually.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 13, 2025
Brad Gooch, author of recent official Haring biography, Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring, saw Luna Luna being reconstructed, describing the feat as "mind boggling."
From BBC • Dec. 22, 2024
Scale this up to all of the ocean and fresh bodies of water where both microplastics and rotifers are present, and the number of nanoplastic particles created every day is mind boggling.
From Science Daily • Nov. 9, 2023
When it comes to certain cheeses, the sheer tapestry of flavors within just one bite of cheese can be mind boggling.
From Salon • Oct. 2, 2022
A mind boggling $10 billion were alleged to have been used to bribe Korean government officials and politicians.
From Crime and Corruption by Vaknin, Samuel
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.
