baffle

• POS: Noun, Verb (transitive)
• HYPHEN: baf=fle

CIDE DICTIONARY

baffle, v. t. [Cf. Lowland Scotch bauchle to treat contemptuously, bauch tasteless, abashed, jaded, Icel. bāgr uneasy, poor, or bāgr, n., struggle, bægja to push, treat harshly, OF. beffler, beffer, to mock, deceive, dial. G. bäppe mouth, beffen to bark, chide.].

•  To cause to undergo a disgraceful punishment, as a recreant knight.  [1913 Webster]

  "He by the heels him hung upon a tree,
  And baffled so, that all which passed by
  The picture of his punishment might see."  [1913 Webster]
•  To check by shifts and turns; to elude; to foil.  [1913 Webster]

  "The art that baffles time's tyrannic claim."  [1913 Webster]
•  To check by perplexing; to disconcert, frustrate, or defeat; to thwart.  De Quincey.  [1913 Webster]

  "A suitable scripture ready to repel and baffle them all."  [1913 Webster]

  "Calculations so difficult as to have baffled, until within a . . . recent period, the most enlightened nations."  [1913 Webster]

  "The mere intricacy of a question should not baffle us."  [1913 Webster]

Baffling wind (Naut.), one that frequently shifts from one point to another.

Syn. -- To balk; thwart; foil; frustrate; defeat.

baffle, v. i. 

•  To practice deceit.  Barrow.  [1913 Webster]
•  To struggle against in vain; as, a ship baffles with the winds.  [1913 Webster]

baffle, n. 

•  A defeat by artifice, shifts, and turns; discomfiture.  South.  [1913 Webster]
•  A deflector, as a plate or wall, so arranged across a furnace or boiler flue as to mingle the hot gases and deflect them against the substance to be heated.  [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
•  A lever for operating the throttle valve of a winding engine.  [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

baffle, v. & n.
--v.tr.
1 confuse or perplex (a person, one's faculties, etc.).
2 a frustrate or hinder (plans etc.). b restrain or regulate the progress of (fluids, sounds, etc.).
--n. (also baffle-plate) a device used to restrain the flow of fluid, gas, etc., through an opening, often found in microphones etc. to regulate the emission of sound.

Idiom

baffle-board a device to prevent sound from spreading in different directions, esp. round a loudspeaker cone.

Derivative

bafflement n. baffling adj. bafflingly adv.

Etymology

perh. rel. to F bafouer ridicule, OF beffer mock

THESAURUS

baffle

addle, amaze, babble, bafflement, balk, ball up, bamboozle, be Greek to, be beyond one, be too deep, beat, beat one, befuddle, bewilderment, bilk, blast, boggle, bother, brave, buffalo, cast down, challenge, checkmate, circumvent, confound, confoundment, confront, confuse, confusion, contravene, counter, counteract, countermand, counterwork, cross, cushion, damp, dampen, dash, daze, deaden, deafen, defeat, defeat expectation, defy, destroy, dilemma, disappoint, discomfit, discomposure, disconcert, disconcertedness, disconcertion, disconcertment, discountenance, dish, disillusion, disrupt, dissatisfy, disturbance, dull, dumbfound, elude, embarrass, embarrassment, enigma, escape one, faze, fix, floor, flummox, fog, foil, frustrate, fuddle, get, gibber, jam, keep in suspense, knock the chocks, let down, lick, lose one, maze, mix up, muddle, muffle, mute, mystery, mystify, need explanation, nonplus, not make sense, not penetrate, pass comprehension, perplex, perplexity, perturbation, pickle, plight, pother, predicament, problem, puzzle, puzzlement, quandary, rattle, riddle, ruin, sabotage, scotch, scrape, soft-pedal, soften, speak in tongues, spike, spoil, stew, stick, stonewall, stop, stump, subdue, talk double Dutch, tantalize, tease, throw, thwart, tone down, unassuredness, upset

ROGET THESAURUS

baffle

Hindrance

VB hinder, impede, filibuster, impedite, embarrass, keep off, stave off, ward off, obviate, avert, antevert, turn aside, draw off, prevent, forefend, nip in the bud, retard, slacken, check, let, counteract, countercheck, preclude, debar, foreclose, estop, inhibit, shackle, restrict, obstruct, stop, stay, bar, bolt, lock, block, block up, choke off, belay, barricade, block the way, bar the way, stop the way, forelay, dam up, put on the brake, scotch the wheel, lock the wheel, put a spoke in the wheel, put a stop to, traverse, contravene, interrupt, intercept, oppose, hedge in, hedge round, cut off, inerclude, interpose, interfere, intermeddle, cramp, hamper, clog, clog the wheels, cumber, encumber, incumber, handicap, choke, saddle with, load with, overload, lay, lumber, trammel, tie one's hands, put to inconvenience, incommode, discommode, discompose, hustle, corner, drive into a corner, run foul of, fall foul of, cross the path of, break in upon, thwart, frustrate, disconcert, balk, foil, faze, feaze, feeze, baffle, snub, override, circumvent, defeat, spike guns, spoil, mar, clip the wings of, cripple, put an extinguisher on, damp, dishearten, discountenance, throw cold water on, spoil sport, lay a wet blanket, throw a wet blanket on, cut the ground from under one, take the wind out of one's sails, undermine, be in the way of, stand in the way of, act as a drag, hang like a millstone round one's neck.

Success

VB succeed, be successful, gain one's end, gain one's ends, crown with success, gain a point, attain a point, carry a point, secure a point, win a point, win an object, get there, manage to, contrive to, accomplish, do wonders, work wonders, make a go of it, come off well, come off successful, come off with flying colors, make short work of, take by storm, carry by storm, bear away the bell, win one's wings, win one's spurs, win the battle, win the day, carry the day, gain the day, gain the prize, gain the palm, have the best of it, have it all one's own way, have the game in one's owns hands, have the ball at one's feet, have one on the hop, walk over the course, carry all before one, remain in possession of the field, score a success, speed, make progress, win one's way, make one's way, work one's way, find one's way, strive to some purpose, prosper, drive a roaring trade, make profit, reap the fruits, gather the fruits, reap the benefit of, reap the harvest, strike oil, gain a windfall, make one's fortune, get in the harvest, turn to good account, turn to account, triumph, be triumphant, gain a victory, obtain a victory, gain an advantage, chain victory to one's car, nail a coonskin to the wall, surmount a difficulty, overcome a difficulty, get over a difficulty, get over an obstacle, se tirer d'affaire, make head against, stem the torrent, stem the tide, stem the current, weather the storm, weather a point, turn a corner, keep one's head above water, tide over, master, get the better of, have the better of, gain the better of, gain the best of, gain the upper hand, gain the ascendancy, gain the whip hand, gain the start of, distance, surpass, defeat, conquer, vanquish, discomfit, euchre, overcome, overthrow, overpower, overmaster, overmatch, overset, override, overreach, outwit, outdo, outflank, outmaneuver, outgeneral, outvote, take the wind out of one's adversary's sails, beat, beat hollow, rout, lick, drub, floor, worst, put down, put to flight, put to the rout, put hors de combat, put out of court, silence, quell, nonsuit, checkmate, upset, confound, nonplus, stalemate, trump, baffle, circumvent, elude, trip up, trip up the heels of, drive into a corner, drive to the wall, run hard, put one's nose out of joint, settle, do for, break the neck of, break the back of, capsize, sink, shipwreck, drown, swamp, subdue, subjugate, reduce, make the enemy bite the dust, victimize, roll in the dust, trample under foot, put an extinguisher upon, answer, answer the purpose, avail, prevail, take effect, do, turn out well, work well, take, tell, bear fruit, hit it, hit the mark, hit the right nail on the head, nick it, turn up trumps, make a hit, find one's account in.