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
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
Still, under tonight’s mystifying astro-weather, chocolates and candlelight will not suffice.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2025
Clear protein—which has earned rave reviews from many TikTokers and fitness experts—might sound mystifying.
—Caroline Tien, SELF, 13 Oct. 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
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
Still, under tonight’s mystifying astro-weather, chocolates and candlelight will not suffice.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2025
Clear protein—which has earned rave reviews from many TikTokers and fitness experts—might sound mystifying.
—Caroline Tien, SELF, 13 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mystifying
Adjective
-
These images are perplexing, thrilling—visual nuts to crack.—
Naomi Fry,
New Yorker,
14 Mar. 2026
-
So while Schenn looks like a fit for now on the ice, and this deal helped the Isles move out Jonathan Drouin’s contract, the overall direction was somewhat perplexing in the big picture.—
The Athletic NHL Staff,
New York Times,
7 Mar. 2026
Verb
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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
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Georgia basketball’s matchup with Tennessee ended in baffling fashion Wednesday night.—
Olivia Sayer,
AJC.com,
29 Jan. 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
-
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
-
That has to be confusing to the hitter.—
Eno Sarris,
New York Times,
13 Mar. 2026
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Two years later, promoters marketed confusing credits such as the Employee Retention Credit to businesses that did not qualify, collecting fees to file improper claims.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
12 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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In that sense, the content lives to its title as a collection of larger-than-life bizarre elements.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
15 Mar. 2026
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Minutes before his interview started, Cutler, alone in the interview room, had done something completely bizarre.—
Marcelena Spencer,
CBS News,
15 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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It’s been a strange season in City Section soccer, with six schools removed from the playoffs for using ineligible players, most of whom played for club teams while also playing tor their high school team, in violation of CIF bylaw 600.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Mar. 2026
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For now, Moltbook remains a strange but revealing glimpse into how AI agents might interact in the future.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mystifying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mystifying. Accessed 17 Mar. 2026.
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