The word baffled has appeared in 154 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Feb. 29 in “‘Spaceman’ Review: What Happened Here?” by Alissa Wilkinson:
When was the last time you looked at the exquisite list of synonyms for the word “baffled”? They may be among the best in the English language: puzzled, nonplused, discombobulated, flummoxed, stumped, fogged, wildered, buffaloed. They’re delicious, delightful, full of consonants, evocative of a very particular feeling: you’re presented with something that seems as though it should be clear, but you can’t make it make sense.
The occasion for my bout of word nerdery is the Adam Sandler movie “Spaceman,” and for that I thank the film. It is not a particularly confusing movie on its own, in part because we’ve seen its likes before: a spaceman, alone in the inky blackness, goes a little nuts, and also gains clarity on his life back on earth. What’s flummoxing about “Spaceman” isn’t what it is, but why it is.
Daily Word Challenge
Can you correctly use the word baffled in a sentence?
Based on the definition and example provided, write a sentence using today’s Word of the Day and share it as a comment on this article. It is most important that your sentence makes sense and demonstrates that you understand the word’s definition, but we also encourage you to be creative and have fun.
If you want a better idea of how baffled can be used in a sentence, read these usage examples on Vocabulary.com. You can also visit this guide to learn how to use IPA symbols to show how different words are pronounced.
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The Word of the Day is provided by Vocabulary.com. Learn more and see usage examples across a range of subjects in the Vocabulary.com Dictionary. See every Word of the Day in this column.
