flummox

verb flum·mox \ ˈflə-məks , -miks \

|Updated on: 25 Jun 2018

Examples: flummox in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of flummox

flummoxed; flummoxing; flummoxes

transitive verb

: confuse

He was flummoxed by the legal jargon.

a happy innocent who had been flummoxed by wily city slickers
—Andy Logan

flummox was our Word of the Day on 05/29/2018. Hear the podcast!

Examples of flummox in a Sentence

an actor who's easily flummoxed by any changes in the script

Recent Examples of flummox from the Web

Ever since Akin, 23, entered the system as part of the first of three consecutive Orioles draft classes loaded at the top with pitching, his ability to pitch in the zone with his fastball has caused teammates to marvel and opponents to be flummoxed.

— jon meoli, baltimoresun.com, "Orioles pitching prospect Keegan Akin riding sneaky fastball to standout season at Double-A Bowie," 21 June 2018
Get our daily newsletter His opponents, flummoxed by his popularity, have sometimes tried to imitate him.

— The Economist, "American political rhetoric is sliding towards the sewer," 21 June 2018
The dense rough, deceptive topographical challenges and unforgiving greens of Shinnecock Hills continued to flummox the world’s best golfers.

— bill pennington, New York Times, "Dustin Johnson Pulls Away in Round 2 of the U.S. Open," 15 June 2018
However after flummoxing Mazurkiewicz, Pele great was then unable to find the net with his shot.

— zahid mahmood, CNN, "Vincent Kompany: 'Pele is the greatest player of all time'," 12 June 2018
For five innings, Seattle hitters were flummoxed by former Mariner Doug Fister, who was working on a one-hitter heading into the sixth inning.

— scott hanson, The Seattle Times, "Marco Gonzales continues to be sharp as Mariners open series with win vs. Rangers," 28 May 2018
And Morey has stocked up on long, athletic defenders unlikely to be flummoxed by Golden State’s versatility.

— nathaniel friedman, GQ, "The Rockets Are Exactly the Kind of Wake-Up Call the Warriors Need," 15 Mar. 2018
No longer will you be flummoxed by what kind of pleated skirt to purchase—the OV answer is a sleek A-line shape, anyway—nor will you be trapped in the prepster notion of tennis whites.

— steff yotka, Vogue, "Outdoor Voices’s New Tennis Collection Makes the Courts a Place for Everyone," 7 June 2018
Workforce growth has been an area that has flummoxed large tech companies during the past few years, even as the need for technology grows.

— marco santana, OrlandoSentinel.com, "City of Orlando launches grant program for tech-focused events," 6 June 2018

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

Did You Know?

No one is completely sure where the word flummox comes from, but we do know that its first known use is found in Charles Dickens' 1837 novel The Pickwick Papers and that it had become quite common in both British and American English by the end of the 19th century. One theory expressed by some etymologists is that it was influenced by "flummock," a word of English dialectical origin used to refer to a clumsy person. This "flummock" may also be the source of the word lummox, which also means "a clumsy person."