baffle

American  

[baf-uhl] / ˈbæf əl /

verb (used with object)

• baffles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• baffled,
  past participle,  past
• baffling
  present participle

1. to confuse, bewilder, or perplex.

   He was baffled by the technical language of the instructions.

2. to frustrate or confound; thwart by creating confusion or bewilderment.

3. to check or deflect the movement of (sound, light, fluids, etc.).

4. to equip with a baffle or baffles.

5. Obsolete. to cheat; trick.

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verb (used without object)

• baffles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• baffled,
  past participle,  past
• baffling
  present participle

1. to struggle ineffectually, as a ship in a gale.

noun

• baffles
  plural

1. something that balks, checks, or deflects.

2. an artificial obstruction for checking or deflecting the flow of gases (as in a boiler), sounds (as in the loudspeaker system of a radio or hi-fi set), light (as in a darkroom), etc.

3. any boxlike enclosure or flat panel for mounting a loudspeaker.

baffle British  

/ ˈbæfəl /

verb

1. to perplex; bewilder; puzzle

2. to frustrate (plans, efforts, etc)

3. to check, restrain, or regulate (the flow of a fluid or the emission of sound or light)

4. to provide with a baffle

5. obsolete to cheat or trick

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noun

1. Also called: baffle board.   baffle plate.  a plate or mechanical device designed to restrain or regulate the flow of a fluid, the emission of light or sound, or the distribution of sound, esp in a loudspeaker or microphone

Usage

What does baffle mean? Baffle means to confuse, bewilder, perplex, or confound. The word usually implies that such confusion causes someone to come to standstill—that it stumps them or makes them completely bewildered. You might be baffled by a difficult riddle or confusing instructions. People’s strange behavior might baffle you. The term is often used in the context of experts or scientists being baffled by some newly discovered thing or phenomenon—one they can’t figure out or comprehend. Someone or something that baffles can be described as baffling. As a verb, baffle can also mean to deflect or regulate the movement or flow of something, such as gas or light. The word can also be used as a noun referring to a component or part that does this. Example: This door is completely baffling! I can never figure out how to get it unlocked. 

Synonym Usage

See thwart.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• bafflement
  noun
• baffler
  noun
• bafflingness
  noun
• baffling
  adjective
• unbaffling
  adjective
• bafflingly
  adverb
• unbafflingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• baffles
  plural

Participles

• baffling
  present
• baffled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• baffle
  simple
• baffles
  simple
• have baffled
  perfect
• has baffled
  perfect
• am baffling
  progressive
• are baffling
  progressive
• is baffling
  progressive
• have been baffling
  perfect progressive
• has been baffling
  perfect progressive

Past

• baffled
  simple
• had baffled
  perfect
• was baffling
  progressive
• were baffling
  progressive
• had been baffling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will baffle
  simple
• will have baffled
  perfect
• will be baffling
  progressive
• will have been baffling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of baffle

First recorded in 1540–50; 1910–15 baffle for def. 8; perhaps from Scots bauchle “to disgrace, treat with contempt,” equivalent to bauch ( see baff) + -le

Explanation

To baffle is to confuse. If you are completely puzzled as to what baffle means, you might say that this word baffles you. Baffle means "confuse," but it can also mean "amaze." A magician might baffle you with an impressive magic trick. Additionally, this verb can mean "to spoil, thwart, or defeat by means of confusion." In a debate, you might baffle the opposition by introducing new information that your opponents are not familiar with. Baffle can also be used like stump. If you are stumped by a question on a test, then you’ve been baffled by that question.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

baffle baffles baffled baffling

Last year's attempt was ended in the most extraordinary style by Djokovic who, playing through the pain of a torn hamstring, used his nous to baffle Alcaraz and come through a four-set thriller.

From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2026

Eventually, Ver’s team and Bhirud hit on the deal that would baffle criminal tax experts.

From Salon ● Jan. 23, 2026

He empathizes with people born in the 1940s who feel irrelevant, since even 20-year-olds now baffle him.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2025

The question of how these two—a vulgar revolutionary and a soft-spoken, polite epitome of the GOP old guard—have stayed together for so long, with such limited drama between them, can baffle observers.

From Slate ● Jan. 20, 2025

My own mother is looking at me as if I completely baffle her mind with my looks, my height, my hair.

From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

Giant steel pipe’s mysterious overnight growth spurt baffles a Japanese city.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 16, 2026

That said, the Recording Academy never goes too long without making a choice that baffles everybody, as when Jon Batiste beat Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift in 2022.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 26, 2026

“Sometimes it baffles us,” said chief prosecutor Hsing Tai-chao.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026

"It is difficult to think of any information more sensitive than that which is involved with the scheme, and it baffles me why there were not better security measures in place," he added.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2025

At the same time, it can’t be so complex that the first time around it baffles the children and turns them off.

From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell

Since history's most powerful telescope went online in 2022, it has been spotting many extremely bright cosmic objects dubbed "little red dots" in the early universe that have baffled scientists.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

When officers finally acted, they pulled only half the hose out, leaving the rest coiled inside the cabinet, and stood there baffled as to why the water wouldn’t flow.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

“I understand that I have value as a performer, but I still don’t get how I got this part,” he says, sounding a bit baffled.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

“Today” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie renewed her plea for information regarding her 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie, whose disappearance nearly six months ago has baffled investigators and left her family searching for answers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

The normally unruffled social worker was baffled by this.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

Haiken previously told The Wall Street Journal he finds it baffling that Volvo was able to get approval to continue selling in the U.S., but Polestar wasn’t.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

So what better time to drop a new album full of arcane jokes, baffling vocal affects and light conspiracy theorizing?

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

But the licensing officer threatened to pull the plug on the show if the orchestra didn’t pay up, baffling musicians who joined their conductor to see what was causing the delay.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

"Given how difficult it is for any piece of culture, let alone books, to get more than fleeting attention, it seems baffling that publishers first offer up the least accessible version."

From BBC ● May 24, 2026

At first I find the videos on kitchens and bathrooms baffling, and it takes me several minutes to realize why: there is no water, or almost no water, involved.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

Related Words

• amaze
• astound
• befuddle
• bewilder
• confound
• confuse
• daze
• disconcert
• dumbfound
• elude
• embarrass
• faze
• mystify
• nonplus
• puzzle
• stump
• stun