as in perplexing
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as in thwarting
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Dissimilar Words
1
as in frustrating
to prevent from achieving a goal
the language barrier baffled everyone and discouraged us from attempting another teleconference
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in puzzling
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
she was baffled by the wording of the clause in the insurance policy
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of baffling
Veronica Ortega, CBS News, 31 May 2026
Frame the Challenge — Then Step Aside New musicians in Davis’s bands often complained that his instructions were cryptic, incomplete, or baffling.
—Bill Fischer, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
ArsTechnica, 25 May 2026
That said, the good outweighs the baffling.
—Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 29 Oct. 2025
Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2026
The steel pipe's unexpected growth spurt was reported to police early Wednesday by a pedestrian who saw broken pieces of asphalt falling from the cylinder, baffling people passing by and causing traffic congestion.
—CBS News, 12 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for baffling
Adjective
The suspect made a baffling statement after the incident.
—Veronica Ortega, CBS News, 31 May 2026
Frame the Challenge — Then Step Aside New musicians in Davis’s bands often complained that his instructions were cryptic, incomplete, or baffling.
—Bill Fischer, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
Noun
Those who knew me found this baffling.
—ArsTechnica, 25 May 2026
That said, the good outweighs the baffling.
—Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 29 Oct. 2025
Verb
This inversion explains a host of baffling political and cultural phenomena of late.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2026
The steel pipe's unexpected growth spurt was reported to police early Wednesday by a pedestrian who saw broken pieces of asphalt falling from the cylinder, baffling people passing by and causing traffic congestion.
—CBS News, 12 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for baffling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for baffling
Adjective
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In their last two losses, the Valkyries have struggled against athletic players like Las Vegas’ A’ja Wilson and Minnesota’s Natasha Howard, which makes Amihere’s lack of playing time perplexing.—
Nathan Canilao,
Mercury News,
8 June 2026
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Despite the thriving community Sacramento FrontRunners is building, the group has not yet managed to overcome one perplexing problem — building membership among women.—
Camila Pedrosa,
Sacbee.com,
8 June 2026
Noun
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The attack’s thwarting was an undeniable success.—
Shane Harris,
The Atlantic,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The thwarting of the Charlotte Hornets, one of the NBA’s fastest squads, is the quintessential White play.—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The documentary’s contradiction is right there, enthralling us with the wild achievements Potter pulled off and frustrating us with his bombast, leading us to ponder whether, as The Dark Wizard suggests, either could exist without the other.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
7 May 2026
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Mack and the Chargers’ defense pressured quarterbacks Jalen Hurts of the Eagles and Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs, frustrating them and keeping them out of their comfort zones.—
Elliott Teaford,
Oc Register,
20 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
The 24 hours between Sunday and Monday made an already puzzling situation even more head spinning.—
Daniel DePetris,
Chicago Tribune,
9 June 2026
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Police are investigating after puzzling footage posted online shows a group of men emerging from a manhole in Brooklyn early Friday morning.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
29 May 2026
Adjective
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Those themes are compelling on paper, but they’re expressed through a confusing mix of abstraction and hyper-local specificity, hidden beneath biker rock riffs, and obscured through Allbrook’s wiry, wailing vocal delivery.—
Cassidy Sollazzo,
Pitchfork,
19 June 2026
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Project proposals said the lanes are underutilized and confusing to drivers.—
Chris Hoffman,
CBS News,
19 June 2026
Noun
-
Kiley left the Republican Party earlier this year, citing frustration with partisanship.—
Ruyuan Li. Summary produced by AI assistance,
Sacbee.com,
17 June 2026
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In Ghana, there also remains frustration at the old FIFA rules which dictated that once a player had represented a country at youth level, he was bound to it forever.—
Simon Hughes,
New York Times,
17 June 2026
Verb
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Winds of up to 50 mph stoked the flames and severely limited the fire response by hampering boat and aircraft access to the remote island.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 June 2026
-
The systematic dismantling of USAID has led to catastrophic humanitarian situations in Africa, including hampering the global response to the current Ebola outbreak.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
10 June 2026
Verb
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Similarly, the defensively bewildering 9-6 loss the Wild suffered to start Round 2 in Colorado set the tone for five games that would ultimately be their undoing.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
3 June 2026
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But even more than engaging the big ideas that Emma’s revelation triggers — pun somewhat intended — Lee and Borli wanted to craft an experience that would mimic its main characters’ bewildering interiority.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
6 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Baffling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/baffling. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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