Word of the Day – Flummoxed

When someone is said to be flummoxed, it usually means that someone has been made bewildered and confused about something that ultimately leads them to not be able to complete an action fully or in a timely manner.

This could be used in the following scenarios:

1. David was flummoxed by the complexity of the website code that he had been asked to edit.
2. The teacher used several long and unusual words, which flummoxed David to the extent that he was unable to answer the question concisely.

In the first sentance David was confused and perplexed by the code he was asked to edit.

In the second sentence David was puzzled and confused by someone else, whilst under pressure to give an answer. This meant that answering the question under pressure was not possible.

Sometimes people deliberately use tactics to flummox others when they realize that the person is under pressure either due to time constraints or the need for an accurate answer.

The Cambridge Dictionary definition of flummoxed is ‘so confused that you do not know what to do‘.

The word flummoxed is an adjective.

Thank you for reading our word of the day for August 9th. We plan to publish a word of the day most days, time permitting. Take a look through the other words, and their meaning, here at Write Correctly.