mystify

verb

mys·​ti·​fy ˈmi-stə-ˌfī 

mystified; mystifying

transitive verb

1

: to perplex the mind of : bewilder

2

: to make mysterious or obscure

mystify an interpretation of a prophecy

mystifier

ˈmi-stə-ˌfī(-ə)r 

noun

mystifyingly

ˈmi-stə-ˌfī-iŋ-lē 

adverb

Synonyms

• addle
• baffle
• bamboozle
• beat
• befog
• befuddle
• bemuse
• bewilder
• buffalo
• confound
• confuse
• discombobulate
• disorient
• flummox
• fox
• fuddle
• get
• gravel
• maze
• muddle
• muddy
• perplex
• pose
• puzzle
• vex

Examples of mystify in a Sentence

The cause of the disease mystified doctors for many years.

The magician has been mystifying his audiences for years with his amazing tricks.

Recent Examples on the Web

The mix of content on TikTok — videos of cats vomiting in a toilet interspersed with people acting silly in their pajamas — can be mystifying for political consultants trying to implant a traditional message. —Noah Bierman, Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2024

Heisenberg ignored the mystifying dynamical events in the middle, and instead kept tabs only on the initial and final particles. —Quanta Magazine, 23 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French mystifier "to hoodwink, dupe," from Greek mýstēs "person initiated (into a religious cult)" + French -ifier -ify — more at mystic entry 1

Note: French mystifier was used by 18th-century literati in the context of elaborate practical jokes in which some pseudo-magical procedure would be performed on the subject of the joke as a sort of mock initiation. Such a joke is described by the playwright Charles-Simon Favart (1710-92) in a letter of June 24, 1760, apparently the earliest known occurrence of the verb: one Poinsinet is persuaded that the application of a magic ointment has made him invisible and he then becomes the butt of various jests. According to Favart, Poinsinet was dubbed le mystifié (presumably, "one made an initiate") as a result of the jests, which he refers to collectively as la mystification. (See Mémoires et correspondances littéraires, dramatiques et anecdotiques de C.S. Favart, tome 1, Paris, 1808, p. 50-52.) The meaning of the English word has been influenced by mystery entry 1, mystical, etc.

First Known Use

1814, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

mystify

verb

mys·​ti·​fy ˈmis-tə-ˌfī 

mystified; mystifying

: to confuse thoroughly the understanding of : perplex

mystified by his behavior

mystification

ˌmis-tə-fə-ˈkā-shən

noun