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

Surrounding the headliners are grumpy arena security, who spend the night wearing baffled expressions watching a sea of adults cheer and laugh and applaud over imaginary characters engaged in battles no one can actually see, and rolls of acrylic dice just 16 millimeters in size. —Eric Francisco, Rolling Stone, 1 Mar. 2025

Now, a development that once baffled educators and administrators is ready to go mainstream. —Lexi Lonas Cochran, The Hill, 31 Dec. 2024

Other stories explore similar themes in equally bizarre situations: In 1880s London, a very suave Joseph Merrick, aka The Elephant Man, flirts shamelessly with the smitten wife of his very baffled doctor (Goldsberry and Kind, respectively). —Greg Evans, Deadline, 22 Dec. 2024

The development sent House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republican members scrambling to come up with a new proposal and baffled senators on both sides of the aisle. —Gord Magill, Newsweek, 21 Dec. 2024

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

Word History

First Known Use

1606, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for baffled

• scaffold