List of 426 Sets of Synonyms - How they Differ - Total of 2307 Words - 308

SYNONYMS: puzzle, perplex, mystify, bewilder, confound.
These verbs mean to cause bafflement or confusion.

Puzzle suggests a problem or matter that is difficult to solve or interpret or that puts one at a loss: I was puzzled by the question.
Perplex stresses puzzlement resulting in uncertainty or anxiety, as over attaining comprehension, reaching a decision, or finding a solution: We were perplexed as what to say in reply.
To mystify is to perplex by defying or seeming to defy comprehension: The author's imagery mystifies me.
Bewilder emphasizes both perplexity and extreme mental confusion: The old know what they want; the young are sad and bewildered.
To confound is to bewilder and astonish so that one becomes immobilized or loses one's equanimity: "God chose the foolish things of the world to confound the wise" (I Corinthians 1:27). The fugitive doubled back to confound the pursuers.