Standard Lemma guide

flummox

verb · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈflʌməks/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ʌməks
  • CMU ARPABET: F L AH0 M AO1 K S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To confuse; to fluster; to flabbergast.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To give in, to give up, to collapse.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive, uncommon

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

be a mystery or bewildering to

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • This beats me!
  • Got me--I don't know the answer!
  • a vexing problem
  • This question really stuck me

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: perplex, vex, stick, get, puzzle, mystify, baffle, beat, pose, bewilder, stupefy, nonplus, gravel, amaze, dumbfound

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: confuse, throw, fox, befuddle, fuddle, bedevil, confound, discombobulate

Narrower terms: stump, mix up, riddle, elude, escape

History

Etymology

Uncertain, probably risen out of a British dialect (OED finds candidate words in Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, southern Cheshire, and Sheffield). The formation seems to be onomatopœic, expressive of the notion of throwing down roughly and untidily. [OED]. First use appears c. 1837 in the writings of Charles Dickens.

Across languages

Translations

23 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Dutch: verwarren — To confuse; to fluster; to flabbergast
  • Finnish: sekoittaa — To confuse; to fluster; to flabbergast
  • French: troubler — To confuse; to fluster; to flabbergast
  • French: embrouiller — To confuse; to fluster; to flabbergast
  • German: verwirren — To confuse; to fluster; to flabbergast
  • German: verblüffen — To confuse; to fluster; to flabbergast
  • Italian: scoraggiare — To confuse; to fluster; to flabbergast
  • Italian: remare contro — To confuse; to fluster; to flabbergast
  • Italian: disilludere — To confuse; to fluster; to flabbergast
  • Italian: disincantare — To confuse; to fluster; to flabbergast
  • Māori: pōrahu — To confuse; to fluster; to flabbergast
  • Russian: смуща́ть (smuščátʹ) — To confuse; to fluster; to flabbergast
  • Russian: приводить в замешательство — To confuse; to fluster; to flabbergast
  • Serbo-Croatian: zbuniti — To confuse; to fluster; to flabbergast
  • Serbo-Croatian: usplahiriti — To confuse; to fluster; to flabbergast
  • Serbo-Croatian: smušiti — To confuse; to fluster; to flabbergast
  • Spanish: desconcertar — To confuse; to fluster; to flabbergast
  • Spanish: trastrocar — To confuse; to fluster; to flabbergast
  • Spanish: trastocar — To confuse; to fluster; to flabbergast
  • Spanish: aturdir — To confuse; to fluster; to flabbergast
  • Spanish: trastornar — To confuse; to fluster; to flabbergast
  • Spanish: barahustar — To confuse; to fluster; to flabbergast
  • Spanish: barajustar — To confuse; to fluster; to flabbergast