mystifying 1 of 2

mystifying

2 of 2

verb

present participle of mystify

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of mystifying
Adjective
Seehorn received a nomination for lead actress in a drama series for her portrayal of cynical Carol Sturka, a fantasy romance author who finds herself in a mystifying situation after a virus seems to have wiped out most of Earth’s population. Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026 The Mets’ continual snub of Hall of Famer Carter, a pivotal player in the team’s history as the first building block of the 1986 championship club, is both mystifying and downright embarrassing. Bill Madden, New York Daily News, 14 Mar. 2026 The outlandish and mystifying story received nearly wall-to-wall coverage, but the plane was never found. Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 19 Feb. 2026 Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) January 31, 2026 Then Peterson played just three minutes in the second half before heading to the bench, limited by the return of nagging injuries that have sidelined him for a good portion of his mystifying rookie season. Brendan Marks, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2026 Perimeter shooters went cold, finishing at the rim turned into a mystifying struggle, and the offense wasn’t able to capitalize after creating advantages behind the play by switch-hunting Doncic. Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 21 Jan. 2026
Verb
But then the 2024 trade deadline was quiet, and the ensuing offseason was mystifying. Max Bultman, New York Times, 17 July 2026 Although the mystifying snubs are especially sure to anger fans of Landman, the series not being invited to the Emmy Awards isn’t anything new since Season 1 of the oil industry drama was also shut out. Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026 The longevity industry profits from mystifying the obvious, but Emanuel largely dispenses with pretense. Dhruv Khullar, New Yorker, 29 June 2026 The film tells the story of her Hungarian family’s relocation to Vancouver Island during one summer in the 1990s, as her parents grapple with the worsening and mystifying behavior of her older half-brother Jeremy (Edik Beddoes). Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 23 Apr. 2026 Franz Wagner, who missed 48 games this year with that mystifying ankle injury, finally started looking like his old self with 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Apr. 2026 But the mystifying circumstances of his 1973 death — involving an overdose at the Joshua Tree Inn and the subsequent theft of his body — have often overshadowed his remarkable musical legacy. Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 14 Apr. 2026 There are few people in the world who know the mystifying experience of being a child star as well as Brandy. Taijuan Moorman, USA Today, 31 Mar. 2026 And then there’s the mystifying whiff of slop. Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 31 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mystifying
Adjective
  • For some, evoking death and sacrifice was perplexing and distasteful; a step too far.
    Harry Booth, Time, 17 July 2026
  • His off-court activity in the final days before he was shipped to Milwaukee included a classy and thoughtful farewell message on Monday but also included perplexing behavior that triggered a social media backlash days earlier.
    Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 7 July 2026
Verb
  • While Loathe’s baffling compositional choices may jump out first, the album’s most glaring flaw is its production.
    Patrick Lyons, Pitchfork, 16 July 2026
  • The Illinois numbers, especially this year’s, are baffling experts.
    Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 21 June 2026
Adjective
  • The wording of the agreement was a bit puzzling, since the Algerian national team held its base camp at the University of Kansas’ facilities in Lawrence — where the deepest connections were forged between the team and a local community.
    PJ Green July 14, Kansas City Star, 14 July 2026
  • Researchers hope the effort may yield clues about dark matter as well as an equally puzzling force known as dark energy.
    Adithi Ramakrishnan, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026
Verb
  • But these casting decisions are bewildering, to say the least, and will certainly cost the film ticket sales and potential revenue.
    Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 6 July 2026
  • Similarly, the defensively bewildering 9-6 loss the Wild suffered to start Round 2 in Colorado set the tone for five games that would ultimately be their undoing.
    Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 3 June 2026
Adjective
  • Grief is one of the most confounding aspects of the human experience.
    Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 17 Apr. 2026
  • In 2021, one year into D’Amaro’s tenure and following COVID shutdowns, Disney did away with FastPass and introduced a confounding and very costly series of pay-to-skip passes, which require timing advanced booking of limited slots in these formerly free-to-enter shorter lines.
    Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 5 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • Indeed, the movie opens with Ed quizzing an older Greek man he’s befriended on the Belgian designer Ann Demeulemeester, before berating him for confusing his Bottega Veneta loafers for Sebago.
    CNN Money, CNN Money, 17 July 2026
  • Disenfranchising or, at best, confusing their voters risks their own electoral success, too.
    SoRelle Wyckoff Gaynor, The Conversation, 17 July 2026
Adjective
  • But at the end of this bizarre game in Miami, this silly 6-4 thriller, this giddy attacking exhibition of some of the world’s best players, and some of the world’s worst defending, England were on the winning side.
    Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 19 July 2026
  • Southwest’s bizarre seat assignments and enforcement policies may have had operational roots, but customers assumed the worst.
    Roger Dooley, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
Adjective
  • While Deliverance follows more or less in the footsteps of Blackwater Park, Damnation digs into a strange new realm for the band, uncovering something even darker.
    Sam Goldner, Pitchfork, 19 July 2026
  • Downstate, the threat of black vultures still feels new and strange.
    Andrew Carter, Chicago Tribune, 19 July 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Mystifying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mystifying. Accessed 27 Jul. 2026.

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