bafflement

noun

Etymology: From baffle + -ment.

1. The result or state of being baffled, confused, or puzzled; a shocked feeling of perplexed bewilderment, caused by being utterly unable to understand something or to move on from one's incomprehension.

   “My bafflement at being caught in this situation made it hard to come up with a way out.”

   “"Have you any theory about this occurrence to-night?" She watched him eagerly as she asked the question. He made a gesture of bafflement. "None whatever—it's beyond me," he confessed.”

2. Something that causes a state of confusion or puzzlement.

   “The cartoon characters on the front cover, the irritatingly meaningless track names . . . make it seem like a concept album about global warming for kids. Since the lyrics remain a bafflement, it might well be.”