as in confusion
a state of mental uncertainty
his complete bafflement as to the point of the joke was in itself funny
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Recent Examples of bafflement
The Ella McCay trend, originated by a Twitter user named Michael Roberts, began as a tribute born out of simultaneous admiration and bafflement.
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Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 10 Dec. 2025
Just silence and forlorn stares of players stuck in a state of bafflement and disappointment.
—Nicki Jhabvala, New York Times, 8 Dec. 2025
In a new interview with GQ, the star expressed bafflement over Nicki Minaj‘s targeting her on social media — and sidestepped Kendrick Lamar‘s beef with Drake.
—Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 6 Nov. 2025
There are black-and-white scenes from what appears to be a cracked Biblical drama featuring a levitating monk and, to the particular bafflement of the producer, a dancing Pulcinella.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 5 Sep. 2025
If the book’s prismatic structure and subjective immediacy feel baffling to encounter, that is because bafflement is the point.
—Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
The Oregon Coast, to Gracie's constant bafflement, feels almost entirely undeveloped—the by-product, like so many atmospheric mysteries, of long-ago legislation.
—Alice Gregory, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bafflement
Noun
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Multiple helpers can slow response during urgent scams and create confusion when fast decisions matter.—
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The category confusion continued this year.—
Noun
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Freezing fog makes driving, boating, flying, and other forms of transportation particularly hazardous.—
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Streetlights flickered before large parts of the city were plunged into darkness, as a thick fog settled over the streets and temperatures plummeted to –5 degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit).—
Noun
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The same bewilderment struck me again today, the morning after the finale premiered, when so many fellow critics took White’s ending to task, if not everything that preceded it.—
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Ironically, this state of cultural bewilderment is now typical of many of the experts who spend their lives studying American government.—
Noun
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Oklo exemplifies both the promise and the perplexity associated with the rebirth of nuclear power.—
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The Eagles’ 21-17 Sunday loss to the Denver Broncos contained the perplexity that has in the past provoked fans to picket outside the NovaCare Complex’s gates.—
Cite this Entry
“Bafflement.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bafflement. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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