flummoxed; flummoxing; flummoxes
: confuse
He was flummoxed by the legal jargon.
a hapless innocent who had been flummoxed by wily city slickers—
Andy Logan
Andy Logan
Did you know?
No one is completely sure where the word flummox comes from, but Charles Dickens was aware of it and used it in his 1837 novel The Pickwick Papers. It became quite common in both British and American English by the end of the 19th century.
Examples of flummox in a Sentence
an actor who's easily flummoxed by any changes in the script
Recent Examples on the Web
There’s also the matter of Utah State’s 2-3 zone with man-to-man principles that completely flummoxed the Aztecs in the second half – aimlessly passing the ball across the perimeter before jacking up a shot at the 30-second clock buzzer.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Feb. 2025
The Chiefs entered the game looking for their third Super Bowl win in a row — something no team had done in NFL history — but instead looked like a far cry from the team that’s flummoxed the league for three of the last four seasons.
—Elizabeth Both, NBC News, 10 Feb. 2025
Moynihan was flummoxed when India asked to deepen its collaboration.
—Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
The athleticism and size of Gafford and Washington flummoxed opposing defenses and gave Dallas' star dynamic duo two talented new targets.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 14 Feb. 2025
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Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Feb. 2025
The Chiefs entered the game looking for their third Super Bowl win in a row — something no team had done in NFL history — but instead looked like a far cry from the team that’s flummoxed the league for three of the last four seasons.
—Elizabeth Both, NBC News, 10 Feb. 2025
Moynihan was flummoxed when India asked to deepen its collaboration.
—Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
The athleticism and size of Gafford and Washington flummoxed opposing defenses and gave Dallas' star dynamic duo two talented new targets.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 14 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flummox
Cite this Entry
“Flummox.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flummox. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.
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