mystification

[ mis-tuh-fi-key-shuhn ]
See synonyms for mystification on Thesaurus.com
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.

  1. 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.

Origin of mystification

1
First recorded in 1810–20; from French mysti(fier) (see mystify ) + -fication

Other words from mystification

  • o·ver·mys·ti·fi·ca·tion, noun

Words Nearby mystification

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use mystification in a sentence

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

    The Awkward Age | Henry James
  • For a time mystification, then changing to weird fear, as a sense of the supernatural stole over him.

    The Vee-Boers | Mayne Reid
  • The sanguine confidence of the community had not subsided into doubt so much as into helpless mystification.

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

    Mysterious Psychic Forces | Camille Flammarion
  • And all life appears to Riabovich an absurd mystification and seems thoroughly senseless.