How to use "mystified" in a sentence

passive voice misuse

Hi everyone,

I used a website to check the writing grammar. I have a result like this: "passive voice misuse.".

"This is because scientists and the public have been typically mystified for years about whether aliens exist or not."

But when I replaced "mystified" with " confused ", the sentence was correct. Could you please give me a good explanation, please?

"This is because scientists and the public have been typically confused for years about whether aliens exist or not."

For your information, I attached a screenshot of the website.

Thank you!!

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Hi, BietTuot. I try to input this sentence in grammar. It's okay. I guess the reason is the set tone difference, like neutral, academic, professional, formal, informal, etc. I hope it helps.

Mystified is a verb that can be used in one of two reference manners. These are:

- to perplex (a person) by playing upon the person's credulity; bewilder purposely.
- to involve in mystery or obscurity.

Confused is an adjective that refers to:

- feeling or exhibiting an inability to understand; bewildered; perplexed
- in a disordered state; mixed up; jumbled

The reason that the software changed the word usage in the sentence was based on the clarity of the reference word being used. Mystified sounds impressive to a non English speaker, but it does not offer meaning clarity in the sentence. Confused is a simpler word that better describes the situation you were discussing in the sentence. So the software used the more appropriate descriptive word instead.