as in perplexing
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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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Recent Examples of mystifying
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
Over the course of the 80-minute show, Gonzo shoots out of a cannon, Fozzie performs stand-up, and Kermit assists Lake with a mystifying card trick.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 14 Nov. 2025
Anya Sesay, jsonline.com, 5 Feb. 2026
People were talking about Roman Abramovich, the oil-and-aluminum billionaire, who was running for governor of Chukotka, mystifying everybody.
—Ian Frazier, New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2026
But in rare cases, messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines have been linked to myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle—mystifying scientists and clinicians.
—Lauren J. Young, Scientific American, 10 Dec. 2025
The 2025-26 Nuggets, even after their mystifying 131-121 loss to the Mavericks on Monday, remain narrowly on pace to break the franchise wins record of 57.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 2 Dec. 2025
Neptune’s been here since 2011, softening your ambitions, mystifying your path, and teaching you to lead with intuition, not ego.
—Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 28 Nov. 2025
This mess of a horror movie and its director’s mystifying track record in the genre is your doing, too!
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 14 Nov. 2025
Still, under tonight’s mystifying astro-weather, chocolates and candlelight will not suffice.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2025
Clear protein—which has earned rave reviews from many TikTokers and fitness experts—might sound mystifying.
—Caroline Tien, SELF, 13 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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
Over the course of the 80-minute show, Gonzo shoots out of a cannon, Fozzie performs stand-up, and Kermit assists Lake with a mystifying card trick.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 14 Nov. 2025
Verb
Exhibitions, no matter their theme, always had a way of mystifying me.
—Anya Sesay, jsonline.com, 5 Feb. 2026
People were talking about Roman Abramovich, the oil-and-aluminum billionaire, who was running for governor of Chukotka, mystifying everybody.
—Ian Frazier, New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2026
But in rare cases, messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines have been linked to myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle—mystifying scientists and clinicians.
—Lauren J. Young, Scientific American, 10 Dec. 2025
The 2025-26 Nuggets, even after their mystifying 131-121 loss to the Mavericks on Monday, remain narrowly on pace to break the franchise wins record of 57.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 2 Dec. 2025
Neptune’s been here since 2011, softening your ambitions, mystifying your path, and teaching you to lead with intuition, not ego.
—Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 28 Nov. 2025
This mess of a horror movie and its director’s mystifying track record in the genre is your doing, too!
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 14 Nov. 2025
Still, under tonight’s mystifying astro-weather, chocolates and candlelight will not suffice.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2025
Clear protein—which has earned rave reviews from many TikTokers and fitness experts—might sound mystifying.
—Caroline Tien, SELF, 13 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mystifying
Adjective
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The oven was equally perplexing.—
Jason Fried,
The Atlantic,
7 Feb. 2026
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It’s been part of a perplexing trend this season for Peterson, who has missed 10 full games and notable portions of 10 others with nagging injuries.—
Justin Williams,
New York Times,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Georgia basketball’s matchup with Tennessee ended in baffling fashion Wednesday night.—
Olivia Sayer,
AJC.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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The pilot of a private jet reportedly made an eerie discovery while flying thousands of feet over Rhode Island, marking the latest in unexplained encounters baffling both experts and civilians alike.—
Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
22 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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New research suggests that dark matter, the universe's most puzzling and mysterious substance, may not exist.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
6 Feb. 2026
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The economy is in a puzzling place.—
Paul Wiseman,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Feb. 2026
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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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
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The Eagles were a confounding defending champion throughout the regular season.—
Jeff Howe,
New York Times,
5 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Germany's exact medal count is a point of contention because Germany has not always competed in each Olympics as a unified country, which can lead to confusing medal counts.—
Aliza Chasan,
CBS News,
7 Feb. 2026
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For many, tax season can be a confusing and stressful time with lingering deadlines and confusing tax forms.—
Paige Moore,
AZCentral.com,
7 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Having stabilized his ship in orbit around the black hole, Dr Hans Reinhardt (a bizarre, OTT performance from Maximilian Schell) now plans to fly into it, assisted by an unquestioning crew of automatons with a very dark origin story.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
8 Feb. 2026
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That's bizarre to me, especially those two.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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In a strange twist, the Max app was developed by VKontakte (VK), which Durov co-founded before selling his shares and leaving Russia in 2014, after Durov said the Kremlin had asked the site to hand over Ukrainian users’ data.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
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Paul, the polarizing boxer, has been no stranger to showing emotion.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mystifying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mystifying. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.
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