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
John Seabrook, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
Stewart appeared equally flummoxed by the idea.
—Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Sep. 2025
Their party is out of power in Washington, flummoxed by low approval ratings, and still debating the decisions that cost it the 2024 election.
—David Weigel, semafor.com, 24 Sep. 2025
The Panthers flummoxed Atlanta quarterback Michael Penix Jr.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flummox
Cite this Entry
“Flummox.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flummox. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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