baffling

baffling
baffling 1783, "bewildering," from BAFFLE (Cf. baffle); earlier a sailor's adjective for winds that blow variously and make headway difficult (c.1770s).

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Baffling — Baf fling (b[a^]f fl[i^]ng), a. Frustrating; discomfiting; disconcerting; as, baffling currents, winds, tasks. {Baff ling*ly}, adv. {Baff ling*ness}, n. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • baffling — index debatable, elusive, enigmatic, inexplicable, inscrutable, labyrinthine, mysterious Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. B …   Law dictionary

  • baffling — [adj] puzzling abstruse, bewildering, beyond one, confusing, difficult to understand, enigmatic, hard to understand, incomprehensible, mystifying, over one’s head, perplexing, unclear, unfathomable; concept 403 Ant. clear, comprehensible …   New thesaurus

  • Baffling — Baffle Baf fle (b[a^]f f l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Baffled} ( f ld); p. pr. & vb. n. {Baffling} ( fl[i^]ng).] [Cf. Lowland Scotch bauchle to treat contemptuously, bauch tasteless, abashed, jaded, Icel. b[=a]gr uneasy, poor, or b[=a]gr, n.,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • baffling — baffle ► VERB ▪ totally bewilder. ► NOUN ▪ a device used to restrain or regulate the flow of sound, light, gas, or a fluid. DERIVATIVES bafflement noun baffling adjective. ORIGIN perhaps related to French bafouer ridicule …   English terms dictionary

  • baffling — adjective making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe (Freq. 1) a baffling problem I faced the knotty problem of what to have for breakfast a problematic situation at home • Syn: ↑elusive, ↑knotty, ↑problematic, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • Baffling wind — Baffle Baf fle (b[a^]f f l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Baffled} ( f ld); p. pr. & vb. n. {Baffling} ( fl[i^]ng).] [Cf. Lowland Scotch bauchle to treat contemptuously, bauch tasteless, abashed, jaded, Icel. b[=a]gr uneasy, poor, or b[=a]gr, n.,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • baffling — adjective puzzling and frustrating …   Wiktionary

  • baffling — Synonyms and related words: bewildering, bothering, confounding, confusing, defeating, discomposing, disconcerting, dismaying, distracting, disturbing, embarrassing, enigmatic, frustrating, intricate, mysterious, mystifying, perplexing,… …   Moby Thesaurus

  • baffling — (Roget s 3 Superthesaurus) a. inscrutable, perplexing. ANT.: explainable, decipherable …   English dictionary for students

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