boggle

verb

bog·gle | \ ˈbä-gəl

How to pronounce boggle (audio)

\

boggled; boggling\ ˈbä-g(ə-)liŋ

How to pronounce boggle (audio)

\

Definition of boggle

intransitive verb

1 : to start with fright or amazement : be overwhelmed the mind boggles at the research needed

2 : to hesitate because of doubt, fear, or scruples

transitive verb

1 : mishandle, bungle

2 : to overwhelm with wonder or bewilderment boggle the mind

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Examples of boggle in a Sentence

she boggled her first effort to make Christmas cookies

Recent Examples on the Web In museum-quality objects, the number and quality of those details can boggle the mind, says Laura Taylor, the curator of interpretation at the National Museum of Toys/Miniatures in Kansas City, Missouri. — Eleanor Cummins, Popular Science, "Why 2020 was the year of miniatures," 1 Jan. 2021 But some of the ailments Romans suffered boggle the mind—vicious fevers, wasting diseases and worms living in putrefying wounds that refused to heal. — Edward Watts, Smithsonian Magazine, "What Rome Learned From the Deadly Antonine Plague of 165 A.D.," 28 Apr. 2020 This beastly powerplant chums out 280 horsepower at 4400 rpm and a boggling 350 pound-feet of torque at 3600. — Arthur St. Antoine, Car and Driver, "Tested: 1992 GMC Typhoon," 19 May 2020 But for somebody so young and relatively inexperienced, Erling Braut Haaland's goalscoring record continues to boggle the mind. — Matias Grez, CNN, "Teen sensation Erling Braut Haaland stuns PSG on Champions League debut for Borussia Dortmund," 18 Feb. 2020 Future solutions will take advantage of technologies that don’t even exist and boggle the mind. — Nathan Wolfe, Time, "COVID-19 Won't Be the Last Pandemic. Here's What We Can Do to Protect Ourselves," 15 Apr. 2020 The fact that there are only 3 million officers to ensure that a majority of 1.3 billion Indians stay put at home would boggle minds. — Anisha Sircar, Quartz India, "India’s coronavirus lockdown is bringing out the worst in its police force," 27 Mar. 2020 That he was hired for such a position in the first place is mind-boggling. — Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, "Letter: Only seems like mob rule in Persky’s firing if you lack empathy," 24 Sep. 2019 According to some forecasts, the numbers could be mind-boggling. — Russ Wiles, azcentral, "How bad of a recession will we see in Arizona? The answers to these questions will be key," 1 Apr. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'boggle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

18 Jan 2021

Cite this Entry

“Boggle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boggle. Accessed 28 Feb. 2021.

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More Definitions for boggle

boggle

verb

English Language Learners Definition of boggle

informal

: to be unable to think clearly : to be amazed or overwhelmed

: to make (the mind) unable to think clearly : to amaze or overwhelm (the mind)

See the full definition for boggle in the English Language Learners Dictionary

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