flummoxed; flummoxing; flummoxes
: confuse
He was flummoxed by the legal jargon.
a hapless innocent who had been flummoxed by wily city slickers—
Andy Logan
Andy Logan
Did you know?
No one is completely sure where the word flummox comes from, but Charles Dickens was aware of it and used it in his 1837 novel The Pickwick Papers. It became quite common in both British and American English by the end of the 19th century.
Examples of flummox in a Sentence
an actor who's easily flummoxed by any changes in the script
Recent Examples on the Web
Samir, who has known Billie at least since middle school, needs a job (and to get the water heater fixed) and is flummoxed by simple interactions.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2025
Again, the Dodgers were flummoxed by a Mets starter, with David Peterson managing to get through seven innings.
—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 6 June 2025
The Mets’ lefty flummoxed the Rockies for 5 2/3 innings, surrendering one run on five hits with five strikeouts and one walk.
—Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 30 May 2025
Rather than offer a new way forward for a system in need of modernization, generative-AI tools have broken it apart, leaving teachers and students flummoxed, even depressed, and unsure of their own roles in a system that can be so easily automated.
—Damon Beres, The Atlantic, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for flummox
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Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2025
Again, the Dodgers were flummoxed by a Mets starter, with David Peterson managing to get through seven innings.
—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 6 June 2025
The Mets’ lefty flummoxed the Rockies for 5 2/3 innings, surrendering one run on five hits with five strikeouts and one walk.
—Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 30 May 2025
Rather than offer a new way forward for a system in need of modernization, generative-AI tools have broken it apart, leaving teachers and students flummoxed, even depressed, and unsure of their own roles in a system that can be so easily automated.
—Damon Beres, The Atlantic, 20 May 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 10 Jul. 2025.
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