as in baffling
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
we were mystified by the sudden changes in the tax code
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as in perplexing
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Recent Examples of mystifying
Dan Duggan, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2025
Thomas Drance, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
The sudden explosive change of air pressure and the heating of the air itself cleared every cloud out of the sky, mystifying Baxter and everyone else who witnessed the disappearance.
—Charles Pellegrino, Rolling Stone, 6 Aug. 2025
Verb
On Sunday, there was a mystifying stretch of turnovers on five straight possessions that began in the second quarter and extended into the fourth quarter.
—Dan Duggan, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
Elias Pettersson, the forward Pettersson will look to bounce back from a mystifying stretch of mediocre hockey (at least when compared to his own lofty standard) that has persisted for 20 months now, dating back to the 2024 NHL All-Star break.
—Thomas Drance, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
The sudden explosive change of air pressure and the heating of the air itself cleared every cloud out of the sky, mystifying Baxter and everyone else who witnessed the disappearance.
—Charles Pellegrino, Rolling Stone, 6 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mystifying
Verb
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In May, Kennedy vowed to find what caused autism by September, baffling scientists who near-unanimously believe there is no one cause of the condition.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
22 Sep. 2025
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This is stuttering, crashing and other issues, even on high-end hardware way above recommended specs, which is baffling some.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Every trade deadline is a perplexing adventure.—
Levi Weaver,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
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The phenomenon is called seasonal asynchrony, and a new study finds these perplexing locations appear in tropical mountains of countries like Costa Rica as well as places like California that have Mediterranean climates.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The observations detected a puzzling event as the planet transitioned from a steady accretion rate in April and May to a burst of growth between June and August.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
2 Oct. 2025
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These include one in which Arthur sports a full beard, a puzzling image given that Arthur has only a mustache.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
26 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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What is the most confounding and terrible, however, is Gretchen’s assertion that Slade, the anti-Viagra, doesn’t get involved with the women on his own accord, but only engages because the women always talk about him.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
10 Oct. 2025
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The offense’s struggles are the most confounding.—
Zach Berman,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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And aren’t our real-life romantic complications bewildering enough?—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
4 Sep. 2025
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Its ginormous investments in higher-value, tech-heavy sectors from smartphones to autos to semiconductors to biotechnology are disrupting the global landscape at bewildering speed.—
William Pesek,
Forbes.com,
27 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Haji Wright scored against the Netherlands, but off of a bizarre finish.—
Paul Tenorio,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
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Known for his comic relief, zany ways of thinking, and cravings for bizarre foods, the audience admires his individuality and loyalty to Scooby.—
Lisa Stardust,
PEOPLE,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Little signs of manipulation and gaslighting apepared along the way, further confusing her.—
David Oliver,
USA Today,
7 Oct. 2025
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However, understanding what needs to be done can be confusing due to a constant stream of climate updates, scientific findings and critical decisions that are shaping our future.—
ABC Climate Unit,
ABC News,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Every city’s got that one weirdo kid making strange music.—
Jeff Ihaza,
Rolling Stone,
10 Oct. 2025
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The Sidney-Levi side of the proceedings is less interesting but more dominant, demonstrating a strange misunderstanding of the show’s appeal.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
10 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mystifying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mystifying. Accessed 14 Oct. 2025.
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