baffle

To confuse or perplex (someone) completely; to bewilder, to confound, to puzzle.

To dampen, muffle, restrain, or otherwise control (a fluid, or waves travelling through a fluid such as light or sound).

To expend effort or struggle in vain.

(no longer used) To defeat, frustrate, or thwart (someone or their efforts, plans, etc.); to confound, to foil.

(no longer used) Of weather or wind: to hinder or prevent (a ship or its crew) from advancing.

(no longer used) To publicly disgrace (someone); specifically, a recreant knight.

(no longer used) To treat (someone) with contempt; to disgrace; also, to speak of (someone or something) in contemptuous terms; to speak ill of, to vilify.

(no longer used) To deceive or hoodwink (someone); to gull.

(no longer used) Followed by away or out: to deprive of (something) through cheating or manipulation; also (followed by out of), to deprive of something by cheating or manipulating (someone).

(no longer used) To argue or complain in a petty or trivial manner; to quibble.

A device used to dampen, muffle, restrain, or otherwise control the movement of a fluid, or waves travelling through a fluid such as light or sound; specifically, a surface positioned inside an open area to inhibit direct motion from one place to another without preventing motion altogether.

A device to prevent the spreading of sound or light.

A barrier designed to obstruct and confuse enemies, rendering them vulnerable.

(dialect, US) A lever for operating the throttle valve of a winding engine.

(no longer used) An argument or objection based on an ambiguity of wording or similar trivial circumstance; a minor complaint; a quibble.

(no longer used) Intentional insult; affront; also, disgrace; (countable) an instance of this.