Boggle
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A scruple or objection. dated
- 2 Alternative form of bogle. alt-of, alternative
- 3 A bungle; a botched situation. dated
- 1 (literally or figuratively) to stop or hesitate as if suddenly seeing a bogle. intransitive, transitive
"The dogs went on, but the horse boggled at the sudden appearance of the strange beast."
- 2 overcome with amazement wordnet
- 3 To be bewildered, dumbfounded, or confused. intransitive
"He boggled at the surprising news."
- 4 startle with amazement or fear wordnet
- 5 To confuse or mystify; overwhelm. transitive
"The vastness of space really boggles the mind."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 hesitate when confronted with a problem, or when in doubt or fear wordnet
- 7 To embarrass with difficulties; to palter or equivocate; to bungle or botch US, dialectal
- 8 To dissemble; to play fast and loose (with someone or something). intransitive, obsolete
"I would be loth to exchange consciences with them, and boggle so with God Almighty; but these men by a new kind of Metaphysick have found out a way to abstract the Person of the King from his Office to make his Soveraigntie a kinde of Platonick Idea hovering in the aire, while they visibly attempt to assail and destroy his person […]"
- 9 To wiggle the eyes as a result of bruxing. intransitive
Example
More examples"Boggle is a game that uses dice with letters instead of numbers."
Etymology
Variation or derivation of bogle, possibly cognate with bug.
Related phrases
More for "boggle"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.