— bafflement , n. — baffler , n. — baffling , adj. — bafflingly , adv. — bafflingness , n.
/baf"euhl/ , v. , baffled, baffling , n.
v.t.
1. to confuse, bewilder, or perplex: He was baffled by the technical language of the instructions.
2. to frustrate or confound; thwart by creating confusion or bewilderment.
3. to check or deflect the movement of (sound, light, fluids, etc.).
4. to equip with a baffle or baffles.
5. Obs. to cheat; trick.
v.i.
6. to struggle ineffectually, as a ship in a gale.
n.
7. something that balks, checks, or deflects.
8. an artificial obstruction for checking or deflecting the flow of gases (as in a boiler), sounds (as in the loudspeaker system of a radio or hi-fi set), light (as in a darkroom), etc.
9. any boxlike enclosure or flat panel for mounting a loudspeaker.
[ 1540-50; 1910-15 for def. 8; perh. bauchle to disgrace, treat with contempt, equiv. to bauch (see BAFF) + -LE ]
Syn. 1. See thwart .