See Also: baffle(medicine)
baffle(dictionary)
Baffle - Golf(gambling)
baffle chamber(medicine)
baffle 1, verb(dictionary)
baffle 2, noun(dictionary)

baffle (iou)



baffle verb & noun. M16.

A. verb.
I. verb trans.
Subject to public disgrace or infamy; treat with scorn. M16-L17.
Spenser He by the heels him hung upon a tree And bafful'd so, that all which passed by The picture of his punishment might see.
Hoodwink, cheat. L16-E18.
Defoe He had not a mind to cheat or baffle the poor man.
Bewilder, confuse; reduce to perplexity, puzzle. M17.
M. Innes Such incongruities..had an insidious power to paralyse the will, to baffle the intellect. W. Faulkner He looked about with a strained, baffled gaze, as if..trying to remember what it was he wanted to say or to do. H. E. Bates She had been a little sorry for Parker; she had been a little puzzled and baffled by him; and now she was hurt. W. H. Auden A murder which has the professionals baffled.
Confound, bring to nought. M17-E19.
G. Crabbe A wish so strong, it baffled his repose.
Defeat in one's efforts, thwart, foil (passing into sense 3); (of the weather) impede the progress of (a ship). L17.
E. A. Freeman The murderer baffled pursuit. R. L. Stevenson The more they tried, the more obstinately fixed I grew to baffle them. H. Allen She had met light, baffling airs from the coast of Puerto Rico onward. W. S. Churchill Hamilton, the baffled peacemaker, returned..full of self-reproach for the advice he had given to the King.
Restrict by means of a baffle; equip with a baffle. L19.
II. verb intrans.
Trifle, quibble. M17-M18.
Struggle ineffectually or futilely. rare. M19.
Comb.: bafflegab colloq. (chiefly N. Amer.) incomprehensible or pretentious verbiage or jargon.
b. noun.
Confusion, discomfiture; a setback; a disgrace or affront. E17-E19.
A state of being baffled. M19.
A plate or other device which serves to restrict or regulate the passage of fluid, gas, etc., or to limit the emission of sound, light, etc. Freq. attrib. L19.
baffle-board, baffle-plate, etc.
bafflement noun the action of baffling; the state of being baffled: M19.
baffler noun (a) a person who or thing which baffles; (b) = BAFFLE noun 3: E17.
bafflingly adverb L19.