flummoxed

adjective

flum·​moxed ˈflə-məkst 

-mikst

: completely unable to understand : utterly confused or perplexed

Then, perforce, his eyes returned to the highway as he headed for I-95 and South Carolina, the most flummoxed driver on the road.

—Clive Gammon

"Seems to know as much about the inside of my larders as I do myself!" thought Mr. Baggins, who was feeling positively flummoxed…

—J. R. R. Tolkien

Examples of flummoxed in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But stablecoins — an asset class worth roughly $120 billion, according to CoinMarketCap — have also raised alarms in Washington and flummoxed policymakers. —Eli Tan, Washington Post, 7 Aug. 2023

The day's White House pool report – which many news outlets rely on for a tick-tock of the president's public schedule – also appeared flummoxed at Biden's remark. —Charles Creitz, Fox News, 16 June 2023

And first-time passengers are so flummoxed by it that there are online tutorials. —Dawn Gilbertson, WSJ, 7 Dec. 2022

Tom Crowley, the chief executive of Popeyes U.K., told the newspaper that focus groups showed Britons were a bit flummoxed by the buttermilk biscuit. —William Thornton | [e-mail], al, 22 Nov. 2021

The tech’s success rate is questionable, however, with some users being left flummoxed or even a little disturbed by the chatbot’s responses to their questions. —Chloe Taylor, Fortune, 7 June 2023

Defensive end Arden Key faked an outside speed rush, bolted inside and wasn’t touched by flummoxed rookie offensive tackle Jaylon Moore during a one-on-one drill during the 49ers’ training-camp practice Wednesday. —Eric Branch, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 Aug. 2021

The flummoxed, totally unprepared expert immediately panics. —Joe Queenan, WSJ, 3 Dec. 2020

That’s especially true when authorities seem as flummoxed as the Biden Administration was until Thursday. —The Editorial Board, wsj.com, 13 Apr. 2023

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Word History

First Known Use

1832, in the meaning defined above