as in to perplex
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
an actor who's easily flummoxed by any changes in the script
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Recent Examples of flummox
Coach Mike Macdonald's defensive unit flummoxed a 49ers offense that had been the NFL's most potent since Brock Purdy returned from an injury in Week 11.
—
CBS News, 3 Jan. 2026
The two years of tangled litigation that has followed flummoxed those who know Uhlfelder best.
—Dan Sullivan, The Orlando Sentinel, 2 Jan. 2026
Colorado's power play trouble has been a talking point all season, and this was yet another night where the Avalanche was clearly the superior team at even strength, but playing with an extra skater flummoxed them.
—Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 30 Dec. 2025
The Biden administration soon appeared flummoxed by surging migration that caused chaos at the border, leading to public support for tougher restrictions.
—Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flummox
CBS News, 3 Jan. 2026
The two years of tangled litigation that has followed flummoxed those who know Uhlfelder best.
—Dan Sullivan, The Orlando Sentinel, 2 Jan. 2026
Colorado's power play trouble has been a talking point all season, and this was yet another night where the Avalanche was clearly the superior team at even strength, but playing with an extra skater flummoxed them.
—Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 30 Dec. 2025
The Biden administration soon appeared flummoxed by surging migration that caused chaos at the border, leading to public support for tougher restrictions.
—Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flummox
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flummox
Verb
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Gargantuan boulders, twisted spiky trees, and vibrant sunset colors form an arid landscape that has perplexed and inspired creative titans like Jim Morrison and Gram Parsons for years.—
Nicole Kliest,
Vogue,
14 Jan. 2026
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The disjunction between the abstract composition and the notion of self-portraiture appeared perplexing in its own right; its inoperability only exacerbated the viewer’s frustration and redoubled the artist’s impish provocation.—
Ara H. Merjian,
Artforum,
1 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But unlike his Sophoclean namesake, Orestes is bewildered by this escalation and refuses.—
Rachel Vorona Cote,
The Atlantic,
5 Jan. 2026
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In April, the president was among those bewildered by his fall.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
27 Nov. 2025
Verb
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While McDermott is out, Beane was promoted to president of football operations, a move that baffled many as much as the coach’s firing.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
20 Jan. 2026
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In August 2025, the IFA determined that Lebanon Utilities' leg of the project didn't necessitate an environmental impact statement, which baffled many on the committee who see a host of potential threats.—
Sophie Hartley,
IndyStar,
20 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Transparency Without Predictability Feels Like an Excuse Don’t confuse transparency with honesty.—
Shep Hyken,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
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Last summer, Noemi Rios of Dallas started the grassroots organization Vecinos Unidos to advise immigrants of their rights and to identify people who may be confused by or scared of the system.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
24 Jan. 2026
Verb
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For decades, this has puzzled physicists and engineers alike.—
Tejasri Gururaj,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Jan. 2026
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Juarez was overwhelmed and a bit puzzled by some of the responses.—
Jim Woods,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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He was less intimidated by its befuddling organization and had grown accustomed to the antiquated spellings and the nearly illegible, unpunctuated scribblings of harried seventeenth-century officials.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
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And any Rams fan who was around for that game probably remembers Dieter Brock, and the irony that the quarterback the Rams brought in from the Canadian Football League was befuddled by winds that reached up to 23 mph, to go with 36 degree temperatures and 26-degree wind chill.—
Jim Alexander,
Oc Register,
17 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flummox.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flummox. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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