Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Mystify
Mys′ti-fy
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Mystified
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Mystifying
.] 1.
To involve in mystery; to make obscure or difficult to understand;
as, to
. mystify
a passage of Scripture2.
To perplex the mind of; to puzzle; to impose upon the credulity of; to baffle;
as, to
. mystify
an opponentHe took undue advantage of his credulity and
mystified
him exceedingly. Ld. Campbell.
Definition 2024
mystify
mystify
English
Verb
mystify (third-person singular simple present mystifies, present participle mystifying, simple past and past participle mystified)
- (transitive) To thoroughly confuse, befuddle, or bewilder.
- 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 2, in The Celebrity:
- 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.
- Solar eclipses continued to mystify ancient humans for thousands of years.
-
Related terms
Translations
to thoroughly confuse, befuddle or bewilder
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