mystify
verb
Synonyms
Examples of mystify in a Sentence
Defne Karabatur, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2024
American racial attitudes sometimes mystified them.
—Peter Hessler, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
Its distinct polar and desert regions have intrigued and mystified astronomers for years.
—Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Mar. 2024
Instead, Nolan mystifies Oppenheimer as a cerebral political martyr and nihilist hero.
—Armond White, National Review, 13 Mar. 2024
Everett’s fiction frequently mystifies critics, who excuse their mystification by describing his work as confounding.
—Maya Binyam, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024
These events took place years ago, and the fluency that kids had with cosmetic practices mystified me then.
—Elise Hu, The Atlantic, 24 Feb. 2024
And even still, the crawfish can remain mystifying.
—Rick Rojas Emily Kask, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2024
Across the reach of centuries, Eisner was both impressed and mystified by the violence of the killing.
—Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mystify.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
borrowed from French mystifier "to hoodwink, dupe," from Greek mýstēs "person initiated (into a religious cult)" + French -ifier -ify — more at mystic entry 1
Note: French mystifier was used by 18th-century literati in the context of elaborate practical jokes in which some pseudo-magical procedure would be performed on the subject of the joke as a sort of mock initiation. Such a joke is described by the playwright Charles-Simon Favart (1710-92) in a letter of June 24, 1760, apparently the earliest known occurrence of the verb: one Poinsinet is persuaded that the application of a magic ointment has made him invisible and he then becomes the butt of various jests. According to Favart, Poinsinet was dubbed le mystifié (presumably, "one made an initiate") as a result of the jests, which he refers to collectively as la mystification. (See Mémoires et correspondances littéraires, dramatiques et anecdotiques de C.S. Favart, tome 1, Paris, 1808, p. 50-52.) The meaning of the English word has been influenced by mystery entry 1, mystical, etc.
1814, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near mystify
Cite this Entry
“Mystify.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mystify. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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mystify
verb
More from Merriam-Webster on mystify
Nglish: Translation of mystify for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of mystify for Arabic Speakers
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