Library / English Dictionary

BAFFLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A flat plate that controls or directs the flow of fluid or energy

Synonyms:

baffle; baffle board

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("baffle" is a kind of...):

plate (a sheet of metal or wood or glass or plastic)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "baffle"):

diffuser; diffusor (baffle that distributes sound waves evenly)

Derivation:

baffle (restrain the emission of (sound, fluid, etc.))

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Restrain the emission of (sound, fluid, etc.)

Synonyms:

baffle; regulate

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "baffle" is one way to...):

hold back; keep; keep back; restrain (prevent the action or expression of)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

baffle (a flat plate that controls or directs the flow of fluid or energy)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be a mystery or bewildering to

Example:

This question really stuck me

Synonyms:

amaze; baffle; beat; bewilder; dumbfound; flummox; get; gravel; mystify; nonplus; perplex; pose; puzzle; stick; stupefy; vex

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "baffle" is one way to...):

bedevil; befuddle; confound; confuse; discombobulate; fox; fuddle; throw (be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "baffle"):

mix up; stump (cause to be perplexed or confounded)

riddle (set a difficult problem or riddle)

elude; escape (be incomprehensible to; escape understanding by)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

Sentence examples:

The bad news will baffle him

The good news will baffle her

The performance is likely to baffle Sue

Derivation:

bafflement (confusion resulting from failure to understand)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of

Example:

foil your opponent

Synonyms:

baffle; bilk; cross; foil; frustrate; queer; scotch; spoil; thwart

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "baffle" is one way to...):

forbid; foreclose; forestall; preclude; prevent (keep from happening or arising; make impossible)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "baffle"):

disappoint; let down (fail to meet the hopes or expectations of)

dash (destroy or break)

short-circuit (hamper the progress of; impede)

ruin (destroy or cause to fail)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Credits

 Context examples: 

But I was baffled in every attempt I made for this purpose.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

A drop of rain on her cheek recalled her thoughts from baffled hopes to ruined ribbons.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

At the sight a deep groan of rage and of despair went up from the baffled rescuers, and, spurring on their horses, they clattered down the long and winding path which led to the valley beneath.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It was worse when it began to be clothed upon with detestable attributes; and out of the shifting, insubstantial mists that had so long baffled his eye, there leaped up the sudden, definite presentment of a fiend.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

We laid her head for the nearest port in Spanish America, for we could not risk the voyage home without fresh hands; and as it was, what with baffling winds and a couple of fresh gales, we were all worn out before we reached it.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

While the link between amyloid-beta and Alzheimer’s disease is well-established, what has baffled researchers to date is how amyloid-beta starts to aggregate in the brain, as it is typically present at very low levels.

(Brain cholesterol associated with increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease, University of Cambridge)

I was, I will admit, somewhat baffled by the difficulty of discovering an envelope to contain the gas, but the contemplation of the immense entrails of these reptiles supplied me with a solution to the problem.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

However, we returned to those monsters, with fresh wakefulness on my part, and we left their eggs in the sand for the sun to hatch; and we ran away from them, and baffled them by constantly turning, which they were unable to do quickly, on account of their unwieldy make; and we went into the water after them, as natives, and put sharp pieces of timber down their throats; and in short we ran the whole crocodile gauntlet.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

If he chooses to lie hidden, he may baffle us for years; and in the meantime!—the thought is too horrible, I dare not think of it even now.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

But, somehow, she grew less herself as the years went by, and more and more baffling.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)