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to confuse, bewilder, or perplex:
He was baffled by the technical language of the instructions.
to frustrate or confound; thwart by creating confusion or bewilderment.
to check or deflect the movement of (sound, light, fluids, etc.).
to equip with a baffle or baffles.
Obsolete. to cheat; trick.
to struggle ineffectually, as a ship in a gale.
something that balks, checks, or deflects.
an artificial obstruction for checking or deflecting the flow of gases (as in a boiler), sounds (as in the loudspeaker system of a radio or hi-fi set), light (as in a darkroom), etc.
any boxlike enclosure or flat panel for mounting a loudspeaker.
Contemporary Examples

Servis, a general contractor, was baffled by how introverted Stone acted.
Hunt for Iraq Vet After Killing Spree M.L. Nestel December 15, 2014

Still other critics are baffled that Borges was influenced by such strange and disparate sources.
Borges Had A Genius For Literature But Not Love Or Much Else Allen Barra October 23, 2014

A newly released report shows the teenage birth rate has hit a 70-year low—and scientists are baffled as to why.
America’s Teen Mom Mystery Casey Schwartz December 21, 2010

The sign that said “Women do it better” (whatever that means, grumbled a male correspondent, baffled).
Geraldine Ferraro Dies: Memories of Her 1984 Campaign Lynn Sherr March 25, 2011

She sounds naïve at times about the way the modern media machine functions, baffled as to why she is deemed newsworthy at all.
Jill Kelley Says Paula Broadwell Tried to ‘Blackmail’ Her Howard Kurtz January 21, 2013

Historical Examples

Jane’s money was lessening, but none of Lola’s wishes had as yet been baffled.
A Prairie Infanta Eva Wilder Brodhead

The baroness acquiesced, and poor Rose and her curiosity were baffled on every side.
White Lies Charles Reade

No more was to be got out of her, and Sue, baffled and repelled, went her way.
Leonore Stubbs L. B. Walford

He was certainly the only being of his sex who baffled or embarrassed her.
Lippincott’s Magazine, Vol. 26, August, 1880 Various

For a second Peggy shrinks into herself in baffled discouragement, but immediately recovers.
Doctor Cupid Rhoda Broughton

verb (transitive)
to perplex; bewilder; puzzle
to frustrate (plans, efforts, etc)
to check, restrain, or regulate (the flow of a fluid or the emission of sound or light)
to provide with a baffle
(obsolete) to cheat or trick
noun
Also called baffle board, baffle plate. a plate or mechanical device designed to restrain or regulate the flow of a fluid, the emission of light or sound, or the distribution of sound, esp in a loudspeaker or microphone
v.

1540s, “to disgrace,” perhaps a Scottish respelling of bauchle “to disgrace publicly” (especially a perjured knight), which is probably related to French bafouer “to abuse, hoodwink” (16c.), possibly from baf, a natural sound of disgust, like bah (cf. German baff machen “to flabbergast”). Meaning “to bewilder, confuse” is from 1640s; that of “to defeat someone’s efforts” is from 1670s. Related: Baffled; baffling.
n.

“shielding device,” 1881, from baffle (v.).