puzzle

[puhz-uh l]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR puzzle ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a toy, problem, or other contrivance designed to amuse by presenting difficulties to be solved by ingenuity or patient effort.

something puzzling; a puzzling question, matter, or person.

a puzzled or perplexed condition; bewilderment.

a crossword puzzle: Did you do the puzzle in the newspaper today?

a jigsaw puzzle.

verb (used with object), puz·zled, puz·zling.

to put (someone) at a loss; mystify; confuse; baffle: Her attitude puzzles me.

to frustrate or confound, as the understanding; perplex: The problem puzzled him for weeks.

to exercise (oneself, one's brain, etc.) over some problem or matter.

Archaic. to make intricate or complicated.

verb (used without object), puz·zled, puz·zling.

to be perplexed or confused.

to ponder or study over some perplexing problem or matter.

Verb Phrases

puzzle out, to solve by careful study or effort: I was unable to puzzle out the message.

Origin of puzzle

First recorded in 1585–95; origin uncertain

Related formspuz·zled·ly, adverbpuz·zled·ness, nounun·puz·zle, verb (used with object), un·puz·zled, un·puz·zling.

Synonyms for puzzle

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR puzzle ON THESAURUS.COM

2. Puzzle, riddle, enigma refer to something baffling or confusing that is to be solved. A puzzle is a question or problem, intricate enough to be perplexing to the mind; it is sometimes a contrivance made purposely perplexing to test one's ingenuity: a crossword puzzle; The reason for their behavior remains a puzzle. A riddle is an intentionally obscure statement or question, the meaning of or answer to which is to be arrived at only by guessing: the famous riddle of the Sphinx. Enigma, originally meaning riddle, now refers to some baffling problem with connotations of mysteriousness: He will always be an enigma to me. 6. confound.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for puzzle

mystify, disturb, complicate, stump, perplex, bewilder, flummox, rattle, befuddle, nonplus, bemuse, disconcert, distract, frustrate, confound, amaze, flabbergast, dumbfound, stumble, floor

Examples from the Web for puzzle

Contemporary Examples of puzzle

For passengers, beyond the statistics lies a puzzle that has persisted for years.
Flying Coach Is the New Hell: How Airlines Engineer You Out of Room
Clive Irving
November 25, 2014
Without access to the site, reporters, social media, and governments put together pieces of the puzzle.
MH17 Is the World’s First Open-Source Air Crash Investigation
Clive Irving
July 22, 2014
But just picture a puzzle on the ground; say a puzzle of the Trade Center.
Is Synthetic Weed Feuling Yemen’s Terrorism?
Abby Haglage
May 23, 2014
Police say that the final pieces of the puzzle were put together in the second week of March.
Hero or Criminal? James Brady, the WTC Ironworker Who Jumped Off the Building
Michael Daly
March 25, 2014
Schindler said this has been a puzzle for the U.S. intelligence community since the days of the cold war.
Ex- CIA Chief: Why We Keep Getting Putin Wrong
Eli Lake, Noah Shachtman, Christopher Dickey
March 2, 2014

Historical Examples of puzzle

He had discovered years before that he was sometimes able thus to puzzle her momentarily.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
There was no reasoning which could help him in the midst of that puzzle.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
We see that the puzzle about identity proves at last to be of Grecian origin.
Tales And Novels, Volume 4 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
There was another consideration, however, which at this time was rather a puzzle.
Heroes of the Telegraph
J. Munro
He made for his own woods, and sat down to try to puzzle it out.
The Biography of a Grizzly
Ernest Seton-Thompson

British Dictionary definitions for puzzle

puzzle

verb

to perplex or be perplexed

(intr foll by over) to attempt the solution (of); ponder (about)he puzzled over her absence

(tr usually foll by out) to solve by mental efforthe puzzled out the meaning of the inscription

noun

a person or thing that puzzles

a problem that cannot be easily or readily solved

the state or condition of being puzzled

a toy, game, or question presenting a problem that requires skill or ingenuity for its solutionSee jigsaw puzzle, Chinese puzzle

Derived Formspuzzling, adjective

Word Origin for puzzle

C16: of unknown origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for puzzle

1590s, pusle "bewilder, confound," possibly frequentative of pose (v.) in obsolete sense of "perplex" (cf. nuzzle from nose). Related: Puzzled; puzzling.

c.1600, "state of being puzzled," from puzzle (v.); meaning "perplexing question" is from 1650s; that of "a toy contrived to test one's ingenuity" is from 1814.