English Explanatory Dictionary

flummox

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To confuse; to fluster; to flabbergast.
  2. To give in, to give up, to collapse.

Pronunciation

/ˈflʌməks/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-flummox.wav LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-flummox.wav

Word forms

flummox flummoxes flummoxing flummoxed

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.

Derived words

flummoxable flummoxed flummoxer flummoxery flummoxing flummoxy
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