baf·fle

[baf-uhl] verb, baf·fled, baf·fling, noun
verb (used with object)
1.
to confuse, bewilder, or perplex: He was baffled by the technical language of the instructions.
2.
to frustrate or confound; thwart by creating confusion or bewilderment.
3.
to check or deflect the movement of (sound, light, fluids, etc.).
4.
to equip with a baffle or baffles.
5.
Obsolete. to cheat; trick.
verb (used without object)
6.
to struggle ineffectually, as a ship in a gale.
00:10
Baffled is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
noun
7.
something that balks, checks, or deflects.
8.
an artificial obstruction for checking or deflecting the flow of gases (as in a boiler), sounds (as in the loudspeaker system of a radio or hi-fi set), light (as in a darkroom), etc.
9.
any boxlike enclosure or flat panel for mounting a loudspeaker.

Origin:
1540–50; 1910–15 for def 8; perhaps < Scots bauchle to disgrace, treat with contempt, equivalent to bauch (see baff) + -le

baf·fle·ment, noun
baf·fler, noun
baf·fling, adjective
baf·fling·ly, adverb
baf·fling·ness, noun
un·baf·fled, adjective
un·baf·fling, adjective
un·baf·fling·ly, adverb


1. See thwart.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To baffled
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World English Dictionary
baffle (ˈbæfəl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
vb
1.  to perplex; bewilder; puzzle
2.  to frustrate (plans, efforts, etc)
3.  to check, restrain, or regulate (the flow of a fluid or the emission of sound or light)
4.  to provide with a baffle
5.  obsolete to cheat or trick
 
n
6.  baffle board, Also called: baffle plate a plate or mechanical device designed to restrain or regulate the flow of a fluid, the emission of light or sound, or the distribution of sound, esp in a loudspeaker or microphone
 
[C16: perhaps from Scottish dialect bachlen to condemn publicly; perhaps related to French bafouer to disgrace]
 
'bafflement
 
n
 
'baffler
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

baffle
1540s, "to disgrace," perhaps a Scottish respelling of bauchle "to disgrace publicly" (especially a perjured knight), which is probably related to Fr. bafouer "to abuse, hoodwink" (16c.), possibly from baf, a natural sound of disgust, like bah (cf. Ger. baff machen "to flabbergast"). Meaning "to bewilder,
confuse" is from 1640s; that of "to defeat someone's efforts" is from 1675. The noun sense of "shielding device" is first recorded 1881. Related: Baffled "confounded" (1650s); bafflement (1841).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
At first, the population plunge baffled scientists, who thought the animals
  were dying from disease.
They were baffled as to where exactly it had lodged in his body.
Why the flu is worse in winter than summer has long baffled scientists.
The five-year absence of a follow-up record has baffled fans.
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