mystify en · VERB
Pronunciation
- /ˈmɪstɪfaɪ/
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From French mystifier, from Ancient Greek μυστικός (mustikós, “secret, mystic”) + Latin -ficare.
Meanings
-
(transitive) To thoroughly confuse, befuddle, or bewilder.
Solar eclipses continued to mystify ancient humans for thousands of years.
I had occasion […] to make a somewhat long business trip to Chicago, and on my return […] I found Farrar awaiting me in the railway station. He smiled his wonted fraction by way of greeting, […], and finally leading me to his buggy, turned and drove out of town. I was completely mystified at such an unusual proceeding.
1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter II, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| mystifying | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| mystified | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| mystified | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| mystifies | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Relateds
mystique · mysterious · mystic · mystical · mysticism · mystery
Translations (12)
de verblüffen (to thoroughly confuse, befuddle or bewilder) · de irritieren (to thoroughly confuse, befuddle or bewilder) · bg смущавам (to thoroughly confuse, befuddle or bewilder) · pl zakłopotać (to thoroughly confuse, befuddle or bewilder) · sh mistificírati (to thoroughly confuse, befuddle or bewilder) · tr afallatmak (to thoroughly confuse, befuddle or bewilder) · pl zadziwiać (to thoroughly confuse, befuddle or bewilder) · ru мистифици́ровать (to thoroughly confuse, befuddle or bewilder) · bg озадачавам (to thoroughly confuse, befuddle or bewilder) · pl zadziwić (to thoroughly confuse, befuddle or bewilder) · sv mystifiera (to thoroughly confuse, befuddle or bewilder) · sv förbrylla (to thoroughly confuse, befuddle or bewilder)