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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

It might appear senseless but that is appearance only, our bafflement before such barbarity.
Senseless. Evil. Silver Linings. Our Misguided Terms of Terror. William Giraldi April 22, 2013

This accounts for some of the bafflement that occasionally greets Bachmann’s statements.
Bachmann’s Unrivaled Extremism Michelle Goldberg June 14, 2011

Historical Examples

A flutter of bafflement showed in her black lashes, but the lips continued to twitch mischievously.
The Heritage of the Hills Arthur P. Hankins

She held out her hand for the bank-note which, with a sense of bafflement, he gave her.
The Place of Honeymoons Harold MacGrath

His most notable achievement had been his resistance and bafflement of many nice girls and of the mothers of many nice girls.
The Little Lady of the Big House Jack London

Mike took heart, his experience believed and his bafflement shared.
Mr. Wicker’s Window Carley Dawson

The murky walls and the low ceiling gave forth an impression of solidity that accentuated his sense of bafflement.
The Gray Phantom’s Return Herman Landon

Dick shook his head in bafflement, and glanced at his watch.
The Little Lady of the Big House Jack London

A madness of bafflement and frustrated curiosity gripped and shook me.
The Thing from the Lake Eleanor M. Ingram

His voice sounded odd and tired, and there was an ache of bafflement in his young eyes.
David Dunne Belle Kanaris Maniates

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
n.

1841, from baffle (v.) + -ment.
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.).