Andy Logan
Did you know?
When it comes to the origins of flummox, etymologists are, well, flummoxed. No one really knows where the word comes from. The first known print use of the verb flummox appeared in Charles Dickens’ novel The Pickwick Papers in the mid-1830s, while the adjective flummoxed appeared italicized a few years earlier in a Dublin newspaper article about laborers striking against employers who oppose their rights: “Lord Cloncurry is actually flummoxed. The people refuse to work for him.” To be flummoxed by something is to be utterly confused by it—that is, to be baffled, puzzled, bewildered, completely unable to understand. Fortunately, a word can be used even if everyone is flummoxed by its etymology, and by the end of the 19th century, flummox had become quite common in both British and American English.
Examples of flummox in a Sentence
Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 13 Mar. 2026
Chelsea’s players were completely unafraid to venture into unfamiliar areas of the pitch to make sure PSG generated no easy advantages with their movement, and their combination of aggression and flexibility flummoxed Luis Enrique’s team.
—Liam Twomey, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2026
By Becky Krystal The Washington Post Cooking chicken can flummox even the more confident home cooks among us.
—The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Mar. 2026
Health care prices are on the rise, and patients are flummoxed that even insurance companies aren’t doing more to control costs.
—Elisabeth Rosenthal, Washington Post, 2 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for flummox
Cite this Entry
“Flummox.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flummox. Accessed 17 Mar. 2026.
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flummox
verb
