mystification

[ mis-tuh-fi-key-shuhn ]

noun

1. an act or instance of purposely causing someone to be perplexed or bewildered by playing on their ignorance, gullibility, or naiveté:

   As a mask for banality or an agent of mystification, the word “dialectical” is really quite wonderful.

   The author put titles at the top of certain pages—in a spirit of mystification, I suppose, since they do not illuminate the reader.

2. an act or instance of making something mysterious or obscure:

   Rejecting any effort to understand Hitler or the Holocaust can lead to a mystification of the past that thwarts all efforts to learn from it.

3. the state of being perplexed or puzzled:

   I felt pretty silly when, after a week of mystification, my techie friend explained how the remote worked.

Other Words From

• o·ver·mys·ti·fi·ca·tion noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of mystification¹

First recorded in 1810–20; from French mysti(fier) ( mystify ( def ) ) + -fication ( def )

Example Sentences

Mr. Longdon's momentary mystification was perhaps partly but the natural effect of constitutional prudence.

From Project Gutenberg

For a time mystification, then changing to weird fear, as a sense of the supernatural stole over him.

From Project Gutenberg

The sanguine confidence of the community had not subsided into doubt so much as into helpless mystification.

From Project Gutenberg

That was a case of high mystification, of jugglery worthy of a street-corner mountebank.

From Project Gutenberg

And all life appears to Riabovich an absurd mystification and seems thoroughly senseless.

From Project Gutenberg