baffled

adjective

baf·​fled ˈba-fəld 

1

: extremely confused or puzzled

… his explanation of a piano's key action will leave you more baffled than before.

—Martin Levine

Molecular biologists became even more baffled when they looked at the messenger RNAs: many of the molecules were longer than the DNA from which they had been transcribed.

—John Rennie

In Miss Kate's eyes there was a troubled, baffled look …

—Edna Ferber

We have all heard novelists testify to the fact that, beginning a new book, they are utterly baffled as to how to proceed …

—Donald Barthelme

2

: equipped with a baffle

Ventilation openings are baffled to prevent stray light from reaching the operator's eyes …

—Bausch & Lomb Catalog

A baffled fuel cell keeps the weight in place.

—Kevin Falvey

Synonyms

• confounded
• hard put
• hard-pressed
• nonplussed
• nonplused
• perplexed

Examples of baffled in a Sentence

baffled viewers didn't know what to make of the strange antics of the talk show host

Recent Examples on the Web

The most interesting aspect that came out of that time with him — besides a green light to make the movie — was that Bob also was a little baffled about the events that went down in the course of our movie. —Seth Abramovitch, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Dec. 2024

Murphy made the remark during an interview with WNYC as the public and lawmakers remain baffled over the source of the large drones. —Greg Norman, Fox News, 12 Dec. 2024

The Beatles themselves can only offer bemused waves and baffled chuckles. —Jordan Runtagh, People.com, 6 Dec. 2024

TikTok users were left baffled and amazed by a clip showing a cat seamlessly opening a door for a dog. —Dan Perry, Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2024

Censoring Ulysses In reviewing the UK Home Office files on James Joyce's Ulysses, a historian found baffled officials afraid to bring more attention to it. —JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024

Perhaps this played better at home, but in the room, there was a baffled silence, barring pockets of laughter for the contributions from Stanley Tucci and Dame Judi Dench. —Radhika Seth, Vogue, 20 Feb. 2024

Sharon starts with small selfless acts, much to the baffled chagrin of Michelle’s grieving widower father, Ed (Alan Ritchson), cutting hair for a charity fundraiser, organizing the family’s mounting bills and babysitting Michelle and her slightly older sister, Ashley (Skywalker Hughes). —Courtney Howard, Variety, 20 Feb. 2024

Smart still looks deeply baffled and is clearly not convinced. —Antonia Debianchi, Peoplemag, 20 Nov. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1606, in the meaning defined at sense 1