mystifications
Acts of befuddling
Mystifications are things that bewilder or confuse, or acts of making something obscure.
The word often carries a note of deliberate obfuscation—the mystifications of bureaucratic language, the mystifications surrounding a company's finances.
His explanations were more mystifications than clarifications.
The singular mystification is more common.
Mental state of confusion
- bafflementMental state of confusion
- puzzlementState of being baffled
- confusionMental disorientation or bewilderment
- befuddlementState of utter confusion
disorientation · incomprehension · stupefaction · nonplussed · flummoxed · dumbfounded · stupefied · confounded
Deliberate concealment through confusion
- smokescreenConcealment through misdirection
- misdirectionIntentional focus manipulation
- subterfugeDeliberate deception to conceal
- equivocationAmbiguous language avoiding commitment
prevarication · doublespeak · distortion · misrepresentation · concealment · evasion · dissembling · manipulation
Puzzling question to solve
- puzzleChallenge testing ingenuity
- conundrumPerplexing problem or question
- cipherHidden writing system
- paradoxSeemingly absurd truth
arcana · secrets · cryptic · esoteric · inscrutable · unfathomable · impenetrable · labyrinthine
Clandestine coordinated scheming
- cloak-and-daggerInvolving secret intrigue
- espionageCovert intelligence gathering
- clandestineConcealed from authorities
- covertIntentionally concealed
scheming · plotting · machinations · skulduggery · secrecy · underhandedness · cabals · shadowy
perplexity
Mental state of confusion
- bafflementMental state of confusion
- puzzlementState of being baffled
- confusionMental disorientation or bewilderment
befuddlement · disorientation · incomprehension · stupefaction · nonplussed · flummoxed · dumbfounded · stupefied · confounded · bemused
obfuscation
Deliberate concealment through confusion
- smokescreenConcealment through misdirection
- misdirectionIntentional focus manipulation
- subterfugeDeliberate deception to conceal
equivocation · prevarication · doublespeak · distortion · misrepresentation · concealment · evasion · dissembling · manipulation · hoodwinking
riddle
Puzzling question to solve
paradox · arcana · secrets · cryptic · esoteric · inscrutable · unfathomable · impenetrable · labyrinthine · abstruse
conspiracy
Clandestine coordinated scheming
- cloak-and-daggerInvolving secret intrigue
- espionageCovert intelligence gathering
- clandestineConcealed from authorities
covert · scheming · plotting · machinations · skulduggery · secrecy · underhandedness · cabals · shadowy · whispers
- puzzlerspuzzle master, brainteasers, brain-teasers, conundrums, enigmas
mystificationsclarifications
Statements removing ambiguity
explanations · elucidations · illuminations · explications · expositions
mystificationscandor
Unguarded truthfulness
straight talk · disclosures · revelations · exposures · truths