{
    "term": "baffle",
    "partOfSpeech": "verb",
    "verbForms": {
        "presentSimple": {
            "iYouWeThey": "baffle",
            "heSheIt": "baffles"
        },
        "pastSimple": "baffled",
        "pastParticiple": "baffled",
        "ingForm": "baffling"
    },
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to confuse somebody completely; to be too difficult or strange for somebody to understand or explain",
            "sensetop": "baffle somebodybe baffled (as to) why, how, where, etc…",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "His behaviour baffles me.",
                    "contextForm": "baffle somebody"
                },
                {
                    "text": "I'm baffled as to why she hasn't called.",
                    "contextForm": "be baffled (as to) why, how, where, etc…"
                },
                {
                    "text": "I'm baffled why she hasn't called."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I'm baffled by her decision."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It baffles me why the show is so popular."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Scientists are baffled as to why so many young people are affected."
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈbæfl/",
                "audio": "ba/baffle/baffle__gb_2.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈbæflz/",
                "audio": "ba/baffle/baffles__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈbæfld/",
                "audio": "ba/baffle/baffled__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈbæflɪŋ/",
                "audio": "ba/baffle/baffling__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈbæfl/",
                "audio": "ba/baffle/baffle__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈbæflz/",
                "audio": "ba/baffle/baffles__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈbæfld/",
                "audio": "ba/baffle/baffled__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈbæflɪŋ/",
                "audio": "ba/baffle/baffling__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "late 16th cent. (in the sense ‘cheat, deceive’): perhaps related to French bafouer ‘ridicule’ or obsolete French beffer ‘mock, deceive’."
}