Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. Informal To confuse; perplex.
Wiktionary
- v. To confuse; to fluster; to flabbergast.
WordNet 3.0
- v. be a mystery or bewildering to
Etymologies
- Probably of English dialectal origin.
Examples
“I have tried the baby surprise several times and it continues to flummox me.”
“That detail might flummox conspiracy theorists trying to figure out whether Fox's shots are secretly favoring the New York Yankees or Philadelphia Phillies, since both are Mets archenemies.”
Fox TV director makes split-second calls for World Series broadcast
“This day-in-the-life format focuses mostly on OR dramatics, doctor-patient interaction and security issues (which constantly flummox Lexie), but one major love-front development does manage to slip through. —”
“Mudd could continually flummox Kirk and Spock in a way that further develops the bond of friendship that was introduced in the first film.”
“According to the mag, a castmember from the past is making a return to the show … a return that is likely to flummox quite a few viewers, I think:”
“Facebook and other social networking tools flummox me because there are so many things going on at once.”
“Once again, in terms of political theater, the president has managed to flummox both critics and angels alike.”
The Huffington Post: Will Durst: Boffo Smash or Miserable Flop?
“Unless a side has the imagination to come at him early with slow bowling as New Zealand did to flummox their opponents in the 1992 competition he could be long since up and running by the time the restrictions come in.”
The Guardian: England's World Cup dream hinges on Kevin Pietersen gamble | Mike Selvey
“According to a local source, however, a town official said the event planners are giving out that the wedding will be at the end of July to flummox the press -- but that the wedding will be held, in fact, on an earlier date in July.”
The Huffington Post: Patricia Zohn: Culture Zohn: Astor Courts: Three Wives Pave the Way for Chelsea
“They destroy draft registration records to flummox Nazi efforts to conscript Norwegian youth for the front lines.”
The Huffington Post: Marshall Fine: HuffPost Review: Max Manus
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘flummox’.
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set phasers to...
you name the setting
I've tuned mine to be gentler and kinder
following suit is not mandatory but would be appreciatedcoddle, confuse, flummox, tap, furrow, instigate, invigorate, punnify, logical, must... act... be..., bowdlerise, laughing gas and 419 more...
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my fab list
blowsabella, aperçu, froideur, salubrious, abject, gallipot, mumchance, wainscot, virago, macerate, lascivious, clandestine and 181 more...
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The weird, the wonderful and the plain hilarious
Loved for their ingenuity, an exact description, or simply for the pure joy of it.
acidulous, aprosdoketon, higgledy-piggledy, lexicographical, ninja, audacious, somnabulist, shivaree, amorphous, quidnunc, glib, melancholy and 353 more...
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January 2012
bloviate, pastiche, apparat, facile, paroxysm, pique, bedfellow, pedigree, tutelage, protege, protégé, retroactive and 196 more...
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cicatrix
scar tissue
minatory, naira, Cluniac, embracive, prolix, hierophant, timorous, adduce, veracious, dysphoric, sang-froid, vitiate and 414 more...
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Bookmarks
Formerly "Conversations dontcry and frindley AND whichbe and reesetee AND Prolagus might be missing".
i'mpossible, acoustic cloak, definitely, strippable triangle, emmy, 7457, bleachers, fartbreaker, moran, merch, perry como rocks, dead people and 28 more...
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edward ryklin's list
viewy, kibosh, snark, rostrum, flummox, ossuary, cosset, cacography, grok, tonsorial, postprandial, eschatology and 5 more...
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queer decadence
decadent, sybaritic, effeminate, languid, dubious, happy-go-lucky, eccentric, bizarre, rantipole, devil-may-care, slaphappy, debauched and 8 more...
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Favorite nonsense verbs
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words I can use that won't confuse
great words that will be understood by most people sound great and add flavour to my conversations
flummox, rigamarole, colloquialisms, smarmy, tweak, synchronicity, scrutinize, ruthless, mortified
Prolagus
David Brooks, "The Hanukkah Story". The New York Times, December 11, 2009. Dec 14, 2009
bilby Hmmmm, I can fix that ... Jul 3, 2009
strev ha! beat ya to it! on set phasers to... Jul 3, 2009
cranewang To confuse; perplex. stress on flum- May 11, 2008
cranewang a funny word May 11, 2008
oroboros FlummOX May 5, 2008