How to Use mystify in a Sentence

mystify

verb
  • The cause of the disease mystified doctors for many years.
  • The magician has been mystifying his audiences for years with his amazing tricks.
  • And then there’s the mystifying whiff of slop.
    — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 31 Mar. 2026
  • Moyes put his phone down, mystified at the news that his six-month reign was coming to an abrupt end.
    — Roshane Thomas, The Athletic, 14 Mar. 2025
  • His family and friends said they were mystified by his death.
    — Jane Wester, Adam Bell and Mark Price lavendrick Smith, charlotteobserver, 20 Oct. 2017
  • The idea that anyone would dive in and get their hands tattooed first mystifies him a bit.
    — Jacob Gallagher, WSJ, 1 Oct. 2018
  • As for where her children got the drugs, Kate says she's mystified.
    — David Chiu, People.com, 3 Apr. 2025
  • Swartz was mystified by the package.
    — Bjorn Dihle, Outdoor Life, 4 Sep. 2025
  • The phrase can also be used in isolation as a joke and to mystify adults.
    — Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 2 Jan. 2026
  • We are mystified why the company put such a puny timber spike on the saw.
    — Roy Berendsohn, Popular Mechanics, 30 Nov. 2022
  • All the remotes mystify even the people who set the systems up.
    — Alison Sider, WSJ, 26 Nov. 2018
  • The desire to keep these people away from our country mystifies me.
    — Author: Charles Wohlforth, Alaska Dispatch News, 1 July 2017
  • What stuff about the older players mystified the younger ones, and vice versa?
    — Sean Gregory, Time, 22 July 2023
  • The dogs were mystified—nothing like this had ever happened to them.
    — Ben Taub, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
  • There are things that mystify and things that, sadly, shouldn’t be all that surprising.
    — Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 26 Dec. 2020
  • For a topic that's been front-page news for weeks, the debt ceiling sure seems to mystify a lot of people.
    — David Pogue, CBS News, 28 May 2023
  • Though maybe also mystifying it even more.
    — Joe Hagan, Vanity Fair, 18 Mar. 2026
  • This was an enormous question that mystified the ancient world.
    — Big Think, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Why Texas would want to go down a similar path is mystifying.
    — Raul A. Reyes, CNN, 8 May 2017
  • But Gilbert sort of mystifies us because the town tries to project such a wholesome image.
    — John D'anna, azcentral, 22 Nov. 2019
  • Some involved in the Russia case said they were mystified by his statement.
    — Anchorage Daily News, 9 Dec. 2019
  • Her search turned up a Vancouver art project, but she was still mystified as customers asked about them.
    — Ed Fletcher, sacbee, 31 Jan. 2018
  • The low seat was oddly paired with handlebars from a foldable bike, for reasons that mystify me.
    — John Timmer, Ars Technica, 6 Sep. 2024
  • These events took place years ago, and the fluency that kids had with cosmetic practices mystified me then.
    — Elise Hu, The Atlantic, 24 Feb. 2024
  • This mess of a horror movie and its director’s mystifying track record in the genre is your doing, too!
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 14 Nov. 2025
  • Cease appeared mystified by Pages’ reaction while on the mound.
    — Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 June 2025
  • The North Siders sound mystified; those from the city's South and West sides know all about it.
    — Bill Daley, chicagotribune.com, 23 June 2017
  • Barkley has been a mystifying chess piece for the Eagles, winners of seven straight.
    — Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 27 Nov. 2024
  • That’s left some members of Congress mystified about why their funding is in jeopardy.
    — Cassandra Jaramillo, ProPublica, 8 Aug. 2025
  • Yet even Tamara is mystified by her son’s relentless urge to repair.
    — Tad Friend, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mystify.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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