Mystify Meaning
/ˈmɪstɪfaɪ/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
verbTo thoroughly confuse, befuddle, or bewilder.
Sentence Examples
The magician's tricks mystify the audience.
The complex plot mystify the reader.
The complex magician's trick continued to mystify the crowd.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The complex machine's strange behavior continued to ____ the experienced engineers.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The complex mathematical equations never fail to ____ me, as I struggle to understand the several different underlying principles of calculus.
Word Origin & History
From French mystifier, from Ancient Greek μυστικός (mustikós, “secret, mystic”) + Latin -ficare.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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."
— 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter II, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The complex machine's strange behavior continued to ____ the experienced engineers.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The complex mathematical equations never fail to ____ me, as I struggle to understand the several different underlying principles of calculus.