Meaning & use
baffled
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Meaning
adjectivecomparable
So puzzled that you cannot understand or explain something.
Grammar: Describes how a person feels; often followed by by: baffled by the result.
Patterns
- be baffled by something
- baffled as to something
The detectives were baffled by the empty room.
I am completely baffled as to why the app keeps crashing.
He gave me a baffled look when I mentioned the party.
Word forms
| comparative | more baffled |
|---|---|
| superlative | most baffled |
Common combinations
- baffled by
- Scientists were baffled by the strange signal.
- utterly baffled
- I was utterly baffled by the instructions.
- baffled look
- She gave him a baffled look.
- remain baffled
- Experts remain baffled about the cause.
- leave someone baffled
- The magician's trick left the audience baffled.
Synonyms and how they differ
- puzzled
- Puzzled is milder and suggests a problem you may still solve, while baffled implies you are stuck.
- bewildered
- Bewildered adds a sense of being overwhelmed or lost, not only unable to understand.
- perplexed
- Perplexed is slightly more formal and suggests worry or doubt along with the confusion.
- stumped
- Stumped is informal and is usually used for being unable to answer a question or find a solution.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: baffled or baffling?
baffled vs baffling
Baffled describes the person who is confused (I was baffled), while baffling describes the thing that causes confusion (a baffling puzzle).
Practice
The mystery was ___, so the officers felt baffled.
Choose one answer.
Baffling describes the mystery that causes the confusion. Baffled describes the officers who feel it, so it cannot describe the mystery.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “baffled”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.