What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Baffle vs Capricious - What's the difference?

baffle | capricious |

As a verb baffle

is (obsolete) to publicly disgrace, especially of a recreant knight.

As a noun baffle

is a device used to dampen the effects of such things as sound, light, or fluid specifically, a baffle is a surface which is placed inside an open area to inhibit direct motion from one part to another, without preventing motion altogether.

As an adjective capricious is

impulsive and unpredictable; determined by chance, impulse, or whim.

baffle

English

Verb

(baffl)
  • (obsolete) To publicly disgrace, especially of a recreant knight.
  • * 1596 , (Edmund Spenser), The Faerie Queene , VI.7:
    • He by the heeles him hung upon a tree, / And baffuld so, that all which passed by / The picture of his punishment might see […].
  • (obsolete) To hoodwink or deceive (someone).
    • (Barrow)
  • To bewilder completely; to confuse or perplex.
    • I am baffled by the contradictions and omissions in the instructions.
  • * Prescott
    • calculations so difficult as to have baffled , until within a recent period, the most enlightened nations
  • * John Locke
    • The mere intricacy of a question should not baffle us.
  • * Cowper
    • the art that baffles time's tyrannic claim
  • * South
    • a suitable scripture ready to repel and baffle them all
  • To struggle in vain.
    • A ship baffles with the winds.

    Synonyms

    * See also

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A device used to dampen the effects of such things as sound, light, or fluid. Specifically, a baffle is a surface which is placed inside an open area to inhibit direct motion from one part to another, without preventing motion altogether.
    • Tanker trucks use baffles to keep the liquids inside from sloshing around.
  • An architectural feature designed to confuse enemies or make them vulnerable.

    • capricious

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Impulsive and unpredictable; determined by chance, impulse, or whim
    • I almost died in a capricious winter storm.
    Stringent rulers are unlikely to act capriciously .
    The Mayor claimed that the action was reasonable, but in reality the action was arbitrary and capricious in nature.
  • *

    • Usage notes

    * Capricious can describe both a person and the decisions they make.

    Synonyms

    * whimsical * arbitrary

    Antonyms

    * conscientious * rigorous

    Derived terms

    * capriciously

    Related terms

    * caprice