as in perplexing
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in baffling
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
we were mystified by the sudden changes in the tax code
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mystifying
Adjective
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Even more perplexing: If shutting off service to new customers without an account is their strict policy, why wait until Friday to execute it?—
Ryan Minton,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2025 -
Part of the reason structures like the Hercules–Corona Borealis Great Wall are so perplexing to scientists has to do with the cosmological principle, which most models of the cosmos are founded upon.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
20 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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There’s the energy and fight, which seems to have gone out of this team like an electric factory doused by a baffling power outage, and the frustration that there don’t seem to be any clear solutions, never mind quick fixes.—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
30 May 2025
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Here, the end of the world seems both baffling and boring.—
Emily McClanathan,
Chicago Tribune,
27 May 2025
Verb
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Researchers are particularly focused on unraveling the puzzling interplay between gas content, magma pressure and lava flow dynamics.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
3 Jan. 2025
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Almost two years into his ordeal, Gould learned of an initiative at the National Institutes of Health that focuses on solving the country’s most puzzling medical cases.—
Jason Liebowitz,
The Atlantic,
2 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Joining me is my Staten Island brother, Pete Davidson, who unveils a darker, dramatic side as his character navigates a bizarre group of residents in an old age home.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
29 May 2025
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Part of that stems from fewer bizarre storytelling choices (good!), and part of it is a byproduct of an overly cautious attitude toward character development (bad).—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
28 May 2025
Adjective
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In many ways, the deepfake issue appears increasingly Kafkaesque: a bewildering maze of shifting identities, elusive culprits, a tech bureaucracy sprawling beyond regulatory reach — and laws that are always lagging at least a few steps behind.—
Anisha Sircar,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2025
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And maybe David Bednar recaptures his old form and the Pittsburgh ‘pen proves as bewildering to opponents as the Tigers’ did down the stretch.—
Tim Britton,
The Athletic,
25 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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After coming to the Mets at the trade deadline, Blackburn had a serious of strange injuries, getting hit by a line drive on his hand, and then suffering from a spinal fluid leak that required surgery.—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
3 June 2025
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The dense central region — a strange melding of concentric bubbles and chaotic dusty structures imaged by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope — can also be spotted shining brightly at the heart of the image.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
2 June 2025
Adjective
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Continuing a recent pattern of face-to-furniture collisions on the talk show, the 69-year-old's head made a momentous journey plummeting toward the program's storied table at the top of Tuesday's live broadcast, after panelist Joy Behar made a shocking joke about Sean Combs.—
Joey Nolfi Published,
EW.com,
3 June 2025
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Sunday’s result was shocking because DeRias had been so good as a freshman this season, entering this game with a 3.98 ERA.—
Walter Villa,
Miami Herald,
2 June 2025
Adjective
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Lochridge cites the monitoring system for the Titan’s novel carbon fiber hull — the same system that showed eerie cracking noises.—
Adam Carlson,
People.com,
6 June 2025
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In April 2024, a plume swept into Athens, Greece, turning the skyline an eerie shade of orange as low-pressure systems carried dust across the Mediterranean.—
Kinsey Gidick,
AFAR Media,
4 June 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Mystifying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mystifying. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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