puzzling
Americanadjective
noun
Other Word Forms
- puzzlingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of puzzling
Explanation
Something that's puzzling is confusing, or hard to understand. It might seem puzzling to you that your best friend claims to hate doughnuts. People sometimes act in puzzling ways, making decisions that you can't comprehend. You might also come across particularly puzzling questions on a test or quiz — these are the hard ones, taking a long time to figure out and requiring a lot of thought. Puzzling comes from the verb puzzle, whose origin is a bit of a puzzle itself. Some experts guess that it comes from pose, formed the way nuzzle is from nose.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But as Te Haumihiata Mason, a translator working in Māori, points out to Mr. Hahn, in New Zealand few plants bud in May, so an inelastic approach here risks puzzling the audience.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026
It would be easy to conclude that this is merely a case of managers using A.I. to do less work, but many employees have noticed something puzzling: Their managers seem more burned out than ever.
From Slate • Apr. 9, 2026
Byrne’s well-earned accolades allow “Tow” to fare better than it otherwise would have, while also causing “Tow” to horseshoe back to its starting point as an overall puzzling career choice.
From Salon • Mar. 22, 2026
A puzzling fossil from the Late Devonian Gogo Formation in WA has now been examined using advanced imaging techniques such as CT scanning and computed tomography.
From Science Daily • Mar. 12, 2026
"I have left off puzzling about the origin of Strata and content myself with knowing that it is so," he recorded.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
