as in perplexing
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as in baffling
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
we were mystified by the sudden changes in the tax code
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mystifying
Max Bultman, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
Over the course of the 80-minute show, Gonzo shoots out of a cannon, Fozzie performs stand-up, and Kermit assists Lake with a mystifying card trick.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 14 Nov. 2025
Lauren J. Young, Scientific American, 10 Dec. 2025
The 2025-26 Nuggets, even after their mystifying 131-121 loss to the Mavericks on Monday, remain narrowly on pace to break the franchise wins record of 57.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 2 Dec. 2025
Neptune’s been here since 2011, softening your ambitions, mystifying your path, and teaching you to lead with intuition, not ego.
—Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 28 Nov. 2025
This mess of a horror movie and its director’s mystifying track record in the genre is your doing, too!
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 14 Nov. 2025
Still, under tonight’s mystifying astro-weather, chocolates and candlelight will not suffice.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2025
Clear protein—which has earned rave reviews from many TikTokers and fitness experts—might sound mystifying.
—Caroline Tien, SELF, 13 Oct. 2025
Elias Pettersson, the forward Pettersson will look to bounce back from a mystifying stretch of mediocre hockey (at least when compared to his own lofty standard) that has persisted for 20 months now, dating back to the 2024 NHL All-Star break.
—Thomas Drance, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
The sudden explosive change of air pressure and the heating of the air itself cleared every cloud out of the sky, mystifying Baxter and everyone else who witnessed the disappearance.
—Charles Pellegrino, Rolling Stone, 6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
That has made his sophomore slump all the more mystifying, as Kasper has just six points (three goals, three assists) through 43 games this season.
—Verb
But in rare cases, messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines have been linked to myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle—mystifying scientists and clinicians.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for mystifying
Adjective
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The movie is hilarious, fun, disturbing, perplexing, exuberant, exhausting.—
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The canon can already be described as a bewildering artistic menagerie, including a perplexing assessment of misandrism, body horror by Brian Yuzna, killer toys from the ’90s, and more.—
Verb
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The pilot of a private jet reportedly made an eerie discovery while flying thousands of feet over Rhode Island, marking the latest in unexplained encounters baffling both experts and civilians alike.—
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From financial wipeouts to baffling misreads of beloved source material, some of Hollywood’s most notorious flops began as video games.—
Adjective
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Here are five times what seemed like a harmless toy turned into a puzzling moment online.—
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The second flare is even more puzzling.—
Verb
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And aren’t our real-life romantic complications bewildering enough?—
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Its ginormous investments in higher-value, tech-heavy sectors from smartphones to autos to semiconductors to biotechnology are disrupting the global landscape at bewildering speed.—
Adjective
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What is the most confounding and terrible, however, is Gretchen’s assertion that Slade, the anti-Viagra, doesn’t get involved with the women on his own accord, but only engages because the women always talk about him.—
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The offense’s struggles are the most confounding.—
Verb
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Canales-Pelaez said that local departments may be confusing administrative warrants with criminal ones, or overcomplying to avoid backlash from the state Legislature.—
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Among the factors hindering higher youth participation, CIRCLE research shows, include confusing registration deadlines and requirements, a lack of youth outreach and a dearth of regular curriculum that teaches young people about elections and voting in school.—
Adjective
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His work is marked by unusual, even bizarre, material choices that encrust spatial compositions reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright’s innovative open space plans.—
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Some unnamed Chicago bartender in the early 1880s had the improbable idea of taking a Whiskey Sour and adding a little red wine to the top, inventing in a bizarre flash of insightone of the great warm weather whiskey drinks of our time.—
Adjective
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The sounds had become a strange new normal for the diverse Central neighborhood.—
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And there was a strange preoccupation with running out of time, even though the show ended a good 15 minutes early as if the performers didn’t understand their own timeline.—
Cite this Entry
“Mystifying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mystifying. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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