| baffle | | |
| n. (artifact) | 1. baffle, baffle board | a flat plate that controls or directs the flow of fluid or energy. |
| ~ diffuser, diffusor | baffle that distributes sound waves evenly. |
| ~ plate | a sheet of metal or wood or glass or plastic. |
| v. (cognition) | 2. amaze, baffle, beat, bewilder, dumbfound, flummox, get, gravel, mystify, nonplus, perplex, pose, puzzle, stick, stupefy, vex | be a mystery or bewildering to.; "This beats me!"; "Got me--I don't know the answer!"; "a vexing problem"; "This question really stuck me" |
| ~ stump, mix up | cause to be perplexed or confounded.; "This problem stumped her" |
| ~ befuddle, confound, bedevil, confuse, discombobulate, fox, fuddle, throw | be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly.; "These questions confuse even the experts"; "This question completely threw me"; "This question befuddled even the teacher" |
| ~ riddle | set a difficult problem or riddle.; "riddle me a riddle" |
| ~ elude, escape | be incomprehensible to; escape understanding by.; "What you are seeing in him eludes me" |
| v. (social) | 3. baffle, bilk, cross, foil, frustrate, queer, scotch, spoil, thwart | hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of.; "What ultimately frustrated every challenger was Ruth's amazing September surge"; "foil your opponent" |
| ~ disappoint, let down | fail to meet the hopes or expectations of.; "Her boyfriend let her down when he did not propose marriage" |
| ~ foreclose, forestall, preclude, prevent, forbid | keep from happening or arising; make impossible.; "My sense of tact forbids an honest answer"; "Your role in the projects precludes your involvement in the competitive project" |
| ~ dash | destroy or break.; "dashed ambitions and hopes" |
| ~ short-circuit | hamper the progress of; impede.; "short-circuit warm feelings" |
| ~ ruin | destroy or cause to fail.; "This behavior will ruin your chances of winning the election" |
| v. (change) | 4. baffle, regulate | check the emission of (sound). |
| ~ confine, limit, throttle, restrain, trammel, bound, restrict | place limits on (extent or access).; "restrict the use of this parking lot"; "limit the time you can spend with your friends" |
| befuddle | | |
| v. (cognition) | 1. bedevil, befuddle, confound, confuse, discombobulate, fox, fuddle, throw | be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly.; "These questions confuse even the experts"; "This question completely threw me"; "This question befuddled even the teacher" |
| ~ demoralize | confuse or put into disorder.; "the boss's behavior demoralized everyone in the office" |
| ~ baffle, bewilder, dumbfound, flummox, mystify, nonplus, perplex, puzzle, amaze, stupefy, gravel, vex, pose, stick, beat, get | be a mystery or bewildering to.; "This beats me!"; "Got me--I don't know the answer!"; "a vexing problem"; "This question really stuck me" |
| ~ disconcert, flurry, confuse, put off | cause to feel embarrassment.; "The constant attention of the young man confused her" |
| ~ disorient, disorientate | cause to be lost or disoriented. |
| ~ be | have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun).; "John is rich"; "This is not a good answer" |
| v. (consumption) | 2. befuddle, fuddle | make stupid with alcohol. |
| ~ inebriate, intoxicate, soak | make drunk (with alcoholic drinks). |
| confuse | | |
| v. (cognition) | 1. confound, confuse | mistake one thing for another.; "you are confusing me with the other candidate"; "I mistook her for the secretary" |
| ~ misidentify, mistake | identify incorrectly.; "Don't mistake her for her twin sister" |
| ~ obnubilate, obscure, blur, confuse | make unclear, indistinct, or blurred.; "Her remarks confused the debate"; "Their words obnubilate their intentions" |
| ~ mix up, jumble, confuse | assemble without order or sense.; "She jumbles the words when she is supposed to write a sentence" |
| v. (emotion) | 2. confuse, disconcert, flurry, put off | cause to feel embarrassment.; "The constant attention of the young man confused her" |
| ~ befuddle, confound, bedevil, confuse, discombobulate, fox, fuddle, throw | be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly.; "These questions confuse even the experts"; "This question completely threw me"; "This question befuddled even the teacher" |
| ~ fluster | cause to be nervous or upset. |
| ~ bother | make confused or perplexed or puzzled. |
| ~ distract, deflect | draw someone's attention away from something.; "The thief distracted the bystanders"; "He deflected his competitors" |
| ~ abash, embarrass | cause to be embarrassed; cause to feel self-conscious. |
| v. (creation) | 3. confuse, jumble, mix up | assemble without order or sense.; "She jumbles the words when she is supposed to write a sentence" |
| ~ confuse, confound | mistake one thing for another.; "you are confusing me with the other candidate"; "I mistook her for the secretary" |
| ~ addle, muddle, puddle | mix up or confuse.; "He muddled the issues" |
| ~ assemble, put together, tack together, piece, set up, tack | create by putting components or members together.; "She pieced a quilt"; "He tacked together some verses"; "They set up a committee" |
| v. (cognition) | 4. blur, confuse, obnubilate, obscure | make unclear, indistinct, or blurred.; "Her remarks confused the debate"; "Their words obnubilate their intentions" |
| ~ alter, change, modify | cause to change; make different; cause a transformation.; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue" |
| ~ confuse, confound | mistake one thing for another.; "you are confusing me with the other candidate"; "I mistook her for the secretary" |
| ~ muddy | cause to become muddy.; "These data would have muddied the prediction" |
| nonplus | | |
| perplex | | |
| v. (change) | 1. complicate, perplex | make more complicated.; "There was a new development that complicated the matter" |
| ~ alter, change, modify | cause to change; make different; cause a transformation.; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue" |
| ~ complexify | make complex.; "he unnecessarily complexified every problem" |
| ~ embrangle, snarl up, snarl | make more complicated or confused through entanglements. |
| puzzle | | |
| n. (communication) | 1. mystifier, puzzle, puzzler, teaser | a particularly baffling problem that is said to have a correct solution.; "he loved to solve chessmate puzzles"; "that's a real puzzler" |
| ~ problem | a question raised for consideration or solution.; "our homework consisted of ten problems to solve" |
| ~ sudoku | a number puzzle in which the numbers 1 through 9 must be placed into a grid of cells so that each row or column contains only one of each number. |
| ~ acrostic, word square | a puzzle where you fill a square grid with words reading the same down as across. |
| n. (artifact) | 2. puzzle | a game that tests your ingenuity. |
| ~ chinese puzzle | intricate or ingenious puzzle consisting of boxes within boxes. |
| ~ game | the game equipment needed in order to play a particular game.; "the child received several games for his birthday" |
| ~ jigsaw puzzle | a puzzle that requires you to reassemble a picture that has been mounted on a stiff base and cut into interlocking pieces. |
| ~ tangram | a Chinese puzzle consisting of a square divided into seven pieces that must be arranged to match particular designs. |
| ~ crossword, crossword puzzle | a puzzle in which words corresponding to numbered clues are to be found and written in to squares in the puzzle. |
| v. (emotion) | 3. puzzle | be uncertain about; think about without fully understanding or being able to decide.; "We puzzled over her sudden departure" |
| ~ chew over, meditate, mull, mull over, muse, ponder, think over, excogitate, reflect, ruminate, speculate, contemplate | reflect deeply on a subject.; "I mulled over the events of the afternoon"; "philosophers have speculated on the question of God for thousands of years"; "The scientist must stop to observe and start to excogitate" |
| stump | | |
| n. (plant) | 1. stump, tree stump | the base part of a tree that remains standing after the tree has been felled. |
| ~ plant part, plant structure | any part of a plant or fungus. |
| ~ tree | a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms. |
| ~ stool | (forestry) the stump of a tree that has been felled or headed for the production of saplings. |
| n. (body) | 2. stump | the part of a limb or tooth that remains after the rest is removed. |
| ~ body part | any part of an organism such as an organ or extremity. |
| ~ tooth | hard bonelike structures in the jaws of vertebrates; used for biting and chewing or for attack and defense. |
| ~ limb | one of the jointed appendages of an animal used for locomotion or grasping: arm; leg; wing; flipper. |
| n. (artifact) | 3. stump | (cricket) any of three upright wooden posts that form the wicket. |
| ~ cricket | a game played with a ball and bat by two teams of 11 players; teams take turns trying to score runs. |
| ~ post | an upright consisting of a piece of timber or metal fixed firmly in an upright position.; "he set a row of posts in the ground and strung barbwire between them" |
| ~ grille, lattice, wicket | small opening (like a window in a door) through which business can be transacted. |
| n. (artifact) | 4. ambo, dais, podium, pulpit, rostrum, soapbox, stump | a platform raised above the surrounding level to give prominence to the person on it. |
| ~ platform | a raised horizontal surface.; "the speaker mounted the platform" |
| v. (cognition) | 5. mix up, stump | cause to be perplexed or confounded.; "This problem stumped her" |
| ~ baffle, bewilder, dumbfound, flummox, mystify, nonplus, perplex, puzzle, amaze, stupefy, gravel, vex, pose, stick, beat, get | be a mystery or bewildering to.; "This beats me!"; "Got me--I don't know the answer!"; "a vexing problem"; "This question really stuck me" |
| v. (motion) | 6. stamp, stomp, stump | walk heavily.; "The men stomped through the snow in their heavy boots" |
| ~ walk | use one's feet to advance; advance by steps.; "Walk, don't run!"; "We walked instead of driving"; "She walks with a slight limp"; "The patient cannot walk yet"; "Walk over to the cabinet" |
| v. (competition) | 7. stump | travel through a district and make political speeches.; "the candidate stumped the Northeast" |
| ~ campaign, run | run, stand, or compete for an office or a position.; "Who's running for treasurer this year?" |
| v. (change) | 8. stump | remove tree stumps from.; "stump a field" |
| ~ clear | remove.; "clear the leaves from the lawn"; "Clear snow from the road" |
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