MYSTIFY (mystified)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: mystified   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does mystify mean? 

• MYSTIFY (verb)
  The verb MYSTIFY has 2 senses:

1. be a mystery or bewildering to

2. make mysterious

  Familiarity information: MYSTIFY used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MYSTIFY (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they mystify    ... he / she / it mystifies   
Past simple: mystified   
Past participle: mystified   
-ing form: mystifying   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Be a mystery or bewildering to

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

amaze; baffle; beat; bewilder; dumbfound; flummox; get; gravel; mystify; nonplus; perplex; pose; puzzle; stick; stupefy; vex

Context example:

This question really stuck me

Hypernyms (to "mystify" is one way to...):

bedevil; befuddle; confound; confuse; discombobulate; fox; fuddle; throw (be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "mystify"):

mix up; stump (cause to be perplexed or confounded)

riddle (set a difficult problem or riddle)

elude; escape (be incomprehensible to; escape understanding by)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

Sentence examples:

The bad news will mystify him
The good news will mystify her
The performance is likely to mystify Sue

Derivation:

mystery (something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained)

mystification (the activity of obscuring people's understanding, leaving them baffled or bewildered)

mystification (something designed to mystify or bewilder)

mystifier (a particularly baffling problem that is said to have a correct solution)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make mysterious

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

mystify the story

Hypernyms (to "mystify" is one way to...):

blot out; hide; obliterate; obscure; veil (make undecipherable or imperceptible by obscuring or concealing)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Antonym:

demystify (make less mysterious or remove the mystery from)

Derivation:

mystery (something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained)

mystification (the activity of obscuring people's understanding, leaving them baffled or bewildered)

mystification (something designed to mystify or bewilder)

mystification (confusion resulting from failure to understand)

 Context examples 

Night after night, I record predictions that never come to pass, professions that are never fulfilled, explanations that are only meant to mystify.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Never had she seen him so angry, and it was all mystified and unreasonable to her comprehension.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

"What are you laughing at? You are up to some mischief, Jo," said Laurie, looking mystified.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

The Great Red Spot (GRS) has delighted and mystified since its discovery in the 17th Century.

(Jupiter’s Great Red Spot Likely a Massive Heat Source, NASA)

I could not resist the temptation of mystifying him a bit—I suppose it is some of the taste of the original apple that remains still in our mouths—so I handed him the shorthand diary.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)