bafflement
State of puzzlement
Bafflement is the state of being completely puzzled or confused.
It suggests more than ordinary confusion—a thorough inability to understand or explain something: She stared at the instructions in bafflement.
The word often implies that the confusion is visible or palpable: His bafflement was obvious to everyone in the room.
Unable to solve
- flummoxedUtterly perplexed
- nonplussedPerplexed into silence
- stymiedBlocked from progressing
- stuckUnable to move
blocked · thwarted · frustrated · impasse · deadlock · standstill · roadblock · obstacle
State of being baffled
- perplexityMental state of confusion
- confusionMental disorientation or bewilderment
- befuddlementState of utter confusion
- discombobulationUtter mental confusion
disorientation · incomprehension · mystification · befuddled · bewildered · mystified · perplexed · confounded
Something unexplained or unknown
- puzzleChallenge testing ingenuity
- enigmaSomething hard to fathom
- conundrumPerplexing problem or question
- riddlePuzzling question to solve
paradox · inexplicable · unfathomable · inscrutable · cryptic · opaque · impenetrable · unknowable
Rendered speechless by surprise
- flabbergastedOverwhelmed with amazement
- gobsmackedExtremely astonished
- thunderstruckExtremely shocked or amazed
- stupefiedOverwhelmed into mental blankness
stunned · astounded · speechless · aghast · slack-jawed · taken aback · floored · bowled over
stumped
Unable to solve
- flummoxedUtterly perplexed
- nonplussedPerplexed into silence
- stymiedBlocked from progressing
stuck · blocked · thwarted · frustrated · impasse · deadlock · standstill · roadblock · obstacle · at wit's end
puzzlement
State of being baffled
- perplexityMental state of confusion
- confusionMental disorientation or bewilderment
- befuddlementState of utter confusion
discombobulation · disorientation · incomprehension · mystification · befuddled · bewildered · mystified · perplexed · confounded · muddled
mystery
Something unexplained or unknown
- puzzleChallenge testing ingenuity
- enigmaSomething hard to fathom
- conundrumPerplexing problem or question
riddle · paradox · inexplicable · unfathomable · inscrutable · cryptic · opaque · impenetrable · unknowable · head-scratcher
dumbfounded
Rendered speechless by surprise
- flabbergastedOverwhelmed with amazement
- gobsmackedExtremely astonished
- thunderstruckExtremely shocked or amazed
stupefied · stunned · astounded · speechless · aghast · slack-jawed · taken aback · floored · bowled over · staggered
- confusionconfusion, confused, bewilderment, perplexity, befuddlement
- incomprehensionconfusion, bewilderment, puzzlement, perplexity, befuddlement
- mental statesknowledge, conscious, mood, anxious, memory
- curiosityinquisitiveness, wonder, questioning, inquiry, interest
- disorientationconfusion, dizziness, vertigo, bewilderment, daze
- misunderstandingsmisunderstanding, misinterpretation, misconception, misreading, miscommunication
bafflementunderstanding
Mental comprehension of something
comprehension · clarity · enlightenment · grasp · insight
bafflementcertainty
Total absence of doubt
confidence · certitude · assurance · sureness · conviction