boggle
boggle Lexical Profile
boggle Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To astonish, overwhelm, or baffle the mind or imagination with something vast or inconceivable.
"The sheer scale of the observable universe continues to boggle the human imagination."
To be astonished, overwhelmed, or baffled when trying to comprehend something (especially of the mind or imagination).
"The mind boggles at the amount of data processed by global servers every single second."
To hesitate, waver, or shy away in fear, doubt, or reluctance.
"Even experienced negotiators sometimes boggle at signing such a restrictive long-term contract."
To bungle, botch, or execute a task clumsily.
"Exhausted from the long shift, the apprentice managed to boggle the final assembly of the clockwork."
• noun
An act of hesitating, shying away, or being startled in alarm or confusion.
"The horse gave a sudden boggle at the fluttering plastic bag before continuing down the trail."
British A variant of bogle; a folkloric phantom, goblin, or bogeyman in northern English and Scottish tradition.
"The old country tales warned children that a mischievous boggle haunted the misty crossroads after nightfall."
• Rhymes for boggle
Word Origin & Etymology
Originating in late 16th-century English from the Scottish and northern English dialect word 'bogle' (a phantom, spectre, or goblin), the verb initially described a horse shying away in sudden fright as if seeing a ghost.