baffle
/ˈbaf(ə)l
/verb [with object]
1Totally bewilder or perplex: an unexplained occurrence that baffled everyone...
- Many critics doubted the wisdom in signing the Celtic player at all, but they were totally baffled at the decision to hose him with money.
- But none of the puzzles are so stupidly designed as to totally baffle players.
- They will be totally baffled and will need a lawyer to know what it means.
Synonyms
perplex, puzzle, bewilder, mystify, bemuse, confuse, confound, nonplus, disconcert, throw, set someone thinking
informal flummox, discombobulate, faze, stump, beat, fox, make someone scratch their head, be all Greek to, floor, fog
North American informal buffalo
rare wilder, gravel, maze, cause to be at a stand, pose, obfuscate
puzzling, bewildering, perplexing, mystifying, bemusing, confusing, unclear, difficult/hard to understand, beyond one, above one's head;
mysterious, enigmatic, obscure, abstruse, unfathomable, inexplicable, incomprehensible, impenetrable, cryptic, opaque
archaic wildering
2Restrain or regulate (a fluid, sound, etc.): to baffle the noise further, I pad the gunwales...
- Access is via exterior galleries along the street frontages, with bathrooms and kitchens placed here to baffle the street noise.
- The sensor baffling gear was still operating, but the visual disguise was gone.
- Coaches thought about using two punt returners in Cincinnati to baffle the elements and provide a safety net for struggling Mac Cody.
Synonyms
thwart, frustrate, foil, baulk, check, block, hinder, obstruct, bar, prevent, deflect, divert
noun
A device used to restrain the flow of a fluid, gas, etc. or to prevent the spreading of sound or light in a particular direction: you can cut out glare from a strip light by concealing it behind a baffle [as modifier]: a baffle plate...
- In a second arrangement, the first gas supply opens into the central region above an upper baffle plate and the second gas supply opens into the periphery of a plenum between the upper baffle plate and a lower baffle plate.
- Based on this data, we added baffles to optimize the light aperture within the spectrometer, thereby eliminating unnecessary rays while maximizing optical throughput.
- Appropriately placed baffles ensure that the light is integrated by many bounces before it reaches the detector.
Derivatives
bafflement
/ noun ...- This spread bafflement and gloom among atomic theorists, as described by Wolfgang Pauli.
- The general reaction amongst my co-workers was sadly predictable, and could be best summed up as amused, incredulous bafflement.
- His expressions change from confusion, to bafflement, to wonder.
Origin
Late 16th century (in the sense 'cheat, deceive'): perhaps related to French bafouer 'ridicule' or obsolete French beffer 'mock, deceive'.