flummox

(flŭm'əks)
tr.v. Informal, -moxed, -mox·ing, -mox·es.
To confuse; perplex.

[Probably of English dialectal origin.]

View more Literature & Language videos

Sunni? Shiite? When the rank and file are unsure of the differences between warring factions in the Muslim world, it's a bit unsettling. But when counterterrorism officials in the FBI and Congress are flummoxed (befuddled) by the question, it is far more troubling. The chief of the FBI's new national security branch was asked if it was important to know the difference:

"'Yes, sure, it's right to know the difference,' he said. 'It's important to know who your targets are...' Next I asked him if he could tell me the difference. He was flummoxed. 'The basics goes back to their beliefs and who they were following,' he said. 'And the conflicts between the Sunnis and the Shia and the difference between who they were following.' "

Link: Can You Tell a Sunni From a Shiite? - New York Times

Posted October 17, 2006.

See our Word Overheard blog to see interesting uses of strange words.

verb

To make incapable of finding something to think, do, or say: confound, nonplus. Informal stick, stump, throw. Slang beat. Idioms: put someone at a loss. See affect/ineffectiveness, knowledge/ignorance.

For a list of words related to flummox, see:

• Foolishness, Bunkum, and Trifles

---

See words rhyming with "flummox."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Flummox.

Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - gøre perpleks, gå fra koncepterne

Nederlands (Dutch)
verbijsteren

Français (French)
v. tr. - démonter, couper le sifflet à (fam)

Deutsch (German)
v. - durcheinanderbringen

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - ζαλίζω, σαστίζω

Italiano (Italian)
sconcertare, confondere, imbarazzare

Português (Portuguese)
v. - aturdir (gír.)

Русский (Russian)
ошеломлять, сбивать с толку, рушиться

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - desconcertar, despistar

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - bringa ur fattningen (vard.)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
使狼狈, 使混乱, 使失措

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 使狼狽, 使混亂, 使失措

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - ~을 얼떨떨하게 하다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - まごつかせる

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يذهل , يحير‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮בילבל, הביך‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.