baffle
verb /ˈbæfl/
/ˈbæfl/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they baffle | /ˈbæfl/ /ˈbæfl/ |
| he / she / it baffles | /ˈbæflz/ /ˈbæflz/ |
| past simple baffled | /ˈbæfld/ /ˈbæfld/ |
| past participle baffled | /ˈbæfld/ /ˈbæfld/ |
| -ing form baffling | /ˈbæflɪŋ/ /ˈbæflɪŋ/ |
- to confuse somebody completely; to be too difficult or strange for somebody to understand or explain
- baffle somebody His behaviour baffles me.
- be baffled (as to) why, how, where, etc… I'm baffled as to why she hasn't called.
- I'm baffled why she hasn't called.
Extra Examples- I'm baffled by her decision.
- It baffles me why the show is so popular.
- Scientists are baffled as to why so many young people are affected.
Oxford Collocations DictionaryBaffle is used with these nouns as the object:- scientist
Word Originlate 16th cent. (in the sense ‘cheat, deceive’): perhaps related to French bafouer ‘ridicule’ or obsolete French beffer ‘mock, deceive’.