mystify

• POS: Verb (usu participle)
• HYPHEN: mys=ti=fy

CIDE DICTIONARY

mystify, v. t. [F. mystifier, fr. Gr. + L. -ficare (in comp.) to make. See 1st Mystery, and -fy.].

•  To involve in mystery; to make obscure or difficult to understand; as, to mystify a passage of Scripture.  [1913 Webster]
•  To perplex the mind of; to puzzle; to impose upon the credulity of; to baffle; as, to mystify an opponent.  [1913 Webster]

  "He took undue advantage of his credulity and mystified him exceedingly."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

mystify, v.tr. (-ies, -ied)
1 bewilder, confuse.
2 hoax, take advantage of the credulity of.
3 wrap up in mystery.

Derivative

mystification n.

Etymology

F mystifier (irreg. formed as MYSTIC or MYSTERY(1))

THESAURUS

mystify

addle, amaze, around the bush, baffle, bamboozle, beat, beat about, beg the question, bewilder, bicker, boggle, buffalo, cavil, choplogic, complicate, confound, confuse, corrupt, daze, dodge, equivocate, evade, evade the issue, fence, floor, flummox, fool, fuddle, garble, get, hedge, hoax, humbug, jumble, keep in suspense, lick, make unintelligible, maze, misadvise, misdirect, miseducate, misguide, misinform, misinstruct, mislead, misteach, mix up, muddle, nitpick, nonplus, obfuscate, obscure, palter, parry, perplex, pervert, pick nits, prevaricate, pussyfoot, puzzle, quibble, scramble, shadow, shift, shuffle, shy, sidestep, split hairs, stick, stump, tergiversate, throw

ROGET THESAURUS

mystify

& Sophistry

VB judge intuitively, judge by intuition, hazard a proposition, hazard a guess, talk at random, reason ill, falsely, misjudge, paralogize, take on faith, take as a given, assume (supposition), pervert, quibble, equivocate, mystify, evade, elude, gloss over, varnish, misteach, mislead, cavil, refine, subtilize, split hairs, misrepresent, beg the question, reason in a circle, reason in circles, assume the conclusion, cut blocks with a razor, beat about the bush, play fast and loose, play fast and loose with the facts, blow hot and cold, prove that black is white and white black, travel out of the record, parler a tort et a travers, put oneself out of court, not have a leg to stand on, judge hastily, shoot from the hip, jump to conclusions (misjudgment).

Concealment

VB conceal, hide, secrete, put out of sight, lock up, seal up, bottle up, encrypt, encode, cipher, cover, screen, cloak, veil, shroud, cover up one's tracks, screen from sight, screen from observation, drawing the veil, draw the curtain, close the curtain, curtain, shade, eclipse, throw a view over, be cloud, be mask, mask, disguise, ensconce, muffle, smother, befog, whisper, keep from, keep back, keep to oneself, keep snug, keep close, keep secret, keep dark, bury, sink, suppress, keep from, keep from out of view, keep from out of sight, keep in the shade, throw into the shade, throw into background, stifle, hush up, smother, withhold, reserve, fence with a question, ignore, keep a secret, keep one's own counsel, hold one's tongue, make no sign, not let it go further, not breathe a word, not breathe a syllable about, not let the right hand know what the left is doing, hide one's light under a bushel, bury one's talent in a napkin, keep in the dark, leave in the dark, keep in the ignorance, blind, blind the eyes, blindfold, hoodwink, mystify, puzzle, bamboozle, be concealed, suffer an eclipse, retire from sight, couch, hide oneself, lie hid, lie in perdu, lie in close, lie in ambush (ambush), seclude oneself, lurk, sneak, skulk, slink, prowl, steal into, steal out of, steal by, steal along, play at bopeep, play at hide and seek, hide in holes and corners, still hunt.

Misteaching

VB misinform, misteach, misdescribe, misinstruct, miscorrect, misdirect, misguide, pervert, put on a false scent, throw off the scent, throw off the trail, deceive, mislead, misrepresent, lie, ambiguas in vulgum spargere voces, propagandize, disinform, render unintelligible, bewilder, mystify, unteach, propagandist.

Deception

VB deceive, take in, defraud, cheat, jockey, do, cozen, diddle, nab, chouse, play one false, bilk, cully, jilt, bite, pluck, swindle, victimize, abuse, mystify, blind one's eyes, blindfold, hoodwink, throw dust into the eyes, dupe, gull, hoax, fool, befool, bamboozle, flimflam, hornswoggle, trick, impose upon, practice upon, play upon, put upon, palm off on, palm upon, foist upon, snatch a verdict, bluff off, bluff, bunko, four flush, gum, spoof, stuff (a ballot box), circumvent, overreach, outreach, out wit, out maneuver, steal a march upon, give the go-by, to leave in the lurch decoy, waylay, lure, beguile, delude, inveigle, entrap, intrap, ensnare, nick, springe, set a trap, lay a trap, lay a snare for, bait the hook, forelay, spread the toils, lime, trapan, trepan, kidnap, let in, hook in, nousle, nousel, blind a trail, enmesh, immesh, shanghai, catch, catch in a trap, sniggle, entangle, illaqueate, hocus, escamoter, practice on one's credulity, hum, humbug, gammon, stuff up, sell, play a trick upon one, play a practical joke upon one, put something over on one, put one over on, balk, trip up, throw a tub to a whale, fool to the top of one's bent, send on a fool's errand, make game, make a fool of, make an April fool of, make an ass of, trifle with, cajole, flatter, come over, gild the pill, make things pleasant, divert, put a good face upon, dissemble, cog, cog the dice, load the dice, stack the deck, live by one's wits, play at hide and seek, obtain money under false pretenses, conjure, juggle, practice chicanery, deacon, play off, palm off, foist off, fob-off, lie, misinform, mislead, betray, be deceived.