baffle

Short definition from Wiktionary

Verb

1. 1
   To confuse or perplex (someone) completely; to bewilder, to confound, to puzzle.
2. 2
   To defeat, frustrate, or thwart (someone or their efforts, plans, etc.); to confound, to foil.
3. 3
   To defeat, frustrate, or thwart (someone or their efforts, plans, etc.); to confound, to foil: Of weather or wind: to hinder or prevent (a ship or its crew) from advancing.
4. 4
   To dampen, muffle, restrain, or otherwise control (a fluid, or waves travelling through a fluid such as light or sound).
5. 5
   To deceive or hoodwink (someone); to gull.
6. 6
   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).
7. 7
   To expend effort or struggle in vain.
8. 8
   To argue or complain in a petty or trivial manner; to quibble.
9. 9
   To publicly disgrace (someone); specifically, a recreant knight.
10. 10
    To treat (someone) with contempt; to disgrace; also, to speak of (someone or something) in contemptuous terms; to speak ill of, to vilify.

Noun

1. 1
   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.
2. 2
   A lever for operating the throttle valve of a winding engine.
3. 3
   A barrier designed to obstruct and confuse enemies, rendering them vulnerable.
4. 4
   An argument or objection based on an ambiguity of wording or similar trivial circumstance; a minor complaint; a quibble.
5. 5
   Intentional insult; affront; also, disgrace; (countable) an instance of this.