flummox
/ˈflʌməks
/verb [with object] informal
Perplex (someone) greatly; bewilder: I was completely flummoxed by the whole thing...
- Mr Rawson said he was completely flummoxed by the decision taken by the bank.
- Her friend was flummoxed so she included a question about men shaving in her next column.
- Venus Williams is becoming an old hand at press conferences, but even she was flummoxed by one question that came her way after losing out to sister Serena in the final.
Synonyms
baffle, bewilder, mystify, bemuse, perplex, puzzle, confuse, confound, nonplus, disconcert, throw, throw off balance, disorientate, take aback, set thinking
informal bamboozle, discombobulate, faze, stump, beat, fox, make someone scratch their head, be all Greek to, make someone's head spin, floor, fog
North American informal buffalo
archaic wilder, gravel, maze, cause to be at a stand, distract, pose
rare obfuscate
baffled, bewildered, mystified, bemused, perplexed, puzzled, confused, confounded, nonplussed, disconcerted, thrown, thrown off balance, at sea, at a loss, disorientated, taken aback
informal bamboozled, discombobulated, fazed, stumped, beat, foxed, floored
Canadian & Australian/New Zealand informal bushed
archaic wildered, distracted, mazed
Origin
Mid 19th century: probably of dialect origin; flummock 'to make untidy, confuse' is recorded in western counties and the north Midlands.