baffling

adjective

baf·​fling ˈba-f(ə-)liŋ 

: extremely confusing or difficult to understand

a baffling decision

found the directions utterly baffling

bafflingly adverb

a bafflingly complex explanation

Examples of baffling in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

What’s particularly baffling was how relatively little content came out of the trip, according to The Verge, with almost none of it actually about OpenAI’s chief product, ChatGPT. — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 6 Aug. 2026

But neither the feisty spirit of Olive Penderghast nor the tragic legacy of Hester Prynne can be found anywhere near Gluck’s baffling interpretation of Braun’s once-promising tale. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 5 Aug. 2026

What’s baffling is that none of this lies beyond the ability of city officials to address. — Michael Powell, The Atlantic, 30 July 2026

Tracking the sky to such depths, such resolution and for such a long time practically guarantees that a bevy of weird and baffling phenomena will emerge from the LSST data. — Phil Plait, Scientific American, 24 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1783, in the meaning defined above