puzzling

American  

[puhz-ling] / ˈpʌz lɪŋ /

adjective

1. confusing or baffling.

   a puzzling answer.

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noun

1. the skill or pastime of constructing or working crossword or other puzzles.

Other Word Forms

• puzzlingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of puzzling

First recorded in 1590–1600; puzzle + -ing ²

Example Sentences

The discovery, published in Scientific Reports, was particularly puzzling because of the impact of climate change in Svalbard.

From BBC

Physicists have identified an unexpected connection between magnetism and the pseudogap, a puzzling phase of matter that appears in some quantum materials just before they become superconducting.

From Science Daily

These results help explain puzzling observations made by the James Webb Space Telescope, which has detected massive black holes existing far earlier than many theories predicted.

From Science Daily

So it is puzzling that Mr. Kaylan would recommend Azeri secession while omitting important context.

From The Wall Street Journal

Also puzzling are the book’s inaccuracies: Joseph Sisco was an able U.S. diplomat but never, as Mr. Burke says, secretary of state.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• ambiguous
• baffling
• bewildering
• difficult
• incomprehensible
• inexplicable
• mystifying
• obscure
• perplexing
• surprising
• unclear
• unfathomable