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
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
Joe Hagan, Vanity Fair, 18 Mar. 2026
In this regard, an emotional, mystifying club remains exactly the same.
—Chris Waugh, New York Times, 16 Mar. 2026
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
Adjective
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
Though maybe also mystifying it even more.
—Joe Hagan, Vanity Fair, 18 Mar. 2026
In this regard, an emotional, mystifying club remains exactly the same.
—Chris Waugh, New York Times, 16 Mar. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mystifying
Adjective
-
Project Hail Mary is an entertaining, if perplexing, film.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
19 Mar. 2026
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Radziwill’s absence has been somewhat perplexing.—
Elizabeth Logan,
Glamour,
19 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The steel pipe's unexpected growth spurt was reported to police early Wednesday by a pedestrian who saw broken pieces of asphalt falling from the cylinder, baffling people passing by and causing traffic congestion.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
12 Mar. 2026
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Though still fuming from his team’s baffling loss to the Bulls – the Warriors squandered an eight-point lead with 91 seconds remaining – Kerr found his composure long enough to crack a joke.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
11 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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So when the aircraft suddenly stopped coming for nearly two weeks, the silence was both striking and deeply puzzling.—
Wayne Chang,
CNN Money,
12 Mar. 2026
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With a bit of creativity and intention, even the most puzzling spots can become purposeful design moments.—
Quincy Bulin,
Southern Living,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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McNutt housed some 700 kids — about one-third of the population of French Lick — and Bird found the campus outside the dormitory walls bewildering.—
Keith O'Brien,
Rolling Stone,
22 Feb. 2026
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Even a principled, well-meaning actor like Claude could face bewildering ethical conflicts.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
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
-
The Eagles were a confounding defending champion throughout the regular season.—
Jeff Howe,
New York Times,
5 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Since the Affordable Care Act subsidies expired at the end of 2025, Americans have undoubtedly been encountering a great deal of confusing information surrounding health care costs and insurance plans.—
Jamie Hartmann-Boyce,
The Conversation,
19 Mar. 2026
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There was the shutdown in the fall, staff layoffs, confusing guidance for grant reviewers, and delays getting out the notices for funding opportunities.—
Theresa Gaffney,
STAT,
17 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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But some of the violations are anything but mundane, hiding records that might shed light on some of DeSantis’ most bizarre and offensive stunts.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
22 Mar. 2026
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This is no small feat, given that real-life Silicon Valley stories often seem too bizarre to be true.—
Marta Balaga,
Variety,
21 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The strange circumstances of his last weeks have the quality of a nightmare from which the Samsas awake.—
Christine Smallwood,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
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But his arrest and conviction in 2024 had been preceded a year earlier by a strange story that appeared in the press and then disappeared almost as quickly.—
K.J. Yossman,
Variety,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mystifying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mystifying. Accessed 26 Mar. 2026.
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