as in to perplex
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
we were mystified by the sudden changes in the tax code
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Recent Examples of mystify
Moyes put his phone down, mystified at the news that his six-month reign was coming to an abrupt end.
—
Roshane Thomas, The Athletic, 14 Mar. 2025
Its description as a 1½ story structure might have mystified out-of-towners.
—Ron Grossman, Chicago Tribune, 2 Mar. 2025
Though painful to attend, his funeral also had a mystifying effect on the teenager.
—Zoey Lyttle, People.com, 19 Feb. 2025
These loops mystified the ancient astronomers such as Claudius Ptolemy (85-165 AD), but today can be easily explained and understood.
—Joe Rao, Space.com, 17 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mystify
Roshane Thomas, The Athletic, 14 Mar. 2025
Its description as a 1½ story structure might have mystified out-of-towners.
—Ron Grossman, Chicago Tribune, 2 Mar. 2025
Though painful to attend, his funeral also had a mystifying effect on the teenager.
—Zoey Lyttle, People.com, 19 Feb. 2025
These loops mystified the ancient astronomers such as Claudius Ptolemy (85-165 AD), but today can be easily explained and understood.
—Joe Rao, Space.com, 17 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mystify
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mystify
Verb
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Multiple voices in one hand blended into fistfuls of color, and perplexing emphases on accompaniment figures served to distract, rather than elucidate, the musical argument.—
Luke Schulze,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
3 Mar. 2025
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Dahl was especially perplexed by the response to Evans’s fall.—
Ronan Farrow,
The New Yorker,
24 Mar. 2025
Verb
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No one was going to confuse Colossal with the Sierra Club.—
D. T. Max,
New Yorker,
7 Apr. 2025
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Let go of a common misconception Some parents worry that teaching their child multiple languages will set them back or confuse them.—
Julia Furlan,
NPR,
5 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Across the street, her husband Steve, who nursed Molly through her first fight with breast cancer a few years earlier, sits bewildered in the office of their couples therapist.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
27 Mar. 2025
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Carlie thinks the whole thing is hilarious, and Chelsea remains bewildered by any King Cake Baby obsession.—
Chelsea Brasted,
Axios,
20 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Two endangered whales are baffling researchers by continuing to show up along a stretch of U.S coast that is not part of their turf, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries.—
Mark Price,
Miami Herald,
9 Apr. 2025
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President Donald Trump’s mass tariffs have baffled Americans, creating uncertainty for the average consumer, according to industry leaders.—
Charles Singh,
USA Today,
8 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Mathematicians have finally solved a geometry problem that has puzzled the field for decades.—
Sara Hashemi,
Smithsonian Magazine,
7 Apr. 2025
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Finding today's Connections puzzle a little bit tricky?—
John W. Dean,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The Trump administration appears to be leaving no stone unturned with its sweeping tariffs around the globe, from rocky outcrops home to polar bears in the Arctic to tiny tropical islands to a former British penal colony whose leader is befuddled that it was targeted.—
Rod Mcguirk and Jamey Keaten,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Apr. 2025
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But a slew of other quirks and glitches made Monday’s Athletics home opener in West Sacramento befuddling, before and after first pitch.—
Chris Biderman,
Sacbee.com,
1 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mystify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mystify. Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.
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