riddle

[ rid-l ]

See synonyms for: riddle riddled riddles on Thesaurus.com

noun

a question or statement so framed as to exercise one's ingenuity in answering it or discovering its meaning; conundrum.
a puzzling question, problem, or matter.

a puzzling thing or person.
any enigmatic or dark saying or speech.

verb (used without object),rid·dled, rid·dling.

to propound riddles; speak enigmatically.

Origin of riddle

First recorded before 1000; Middle English noun redel, redels, Old English rǣdels(e) “counsel, opinion, imagination, riddle” + -els(e) noun suffix; cognate with German Rätsel, Dutch raadsel; see also rede

synonym study For riddle

1. See puzzle.

Other definitions for riddle (2 of 2)

riddle²

[ rid-l ]

verb (used with object),rid·dled, rid·dling.

to pierce with many holes, suggesting those of a sieve: to riddle the target.
to fill or affect with (something undesirable, weakening, etc.): a government riddled with graft.

to impair or refute completely by persistent verbal attacks: to riddle a person's reputation.
to sift through a riddle, as gravel; screen.

noun

a coarse sieve, as one for sifting sand in a foundry.

Origin of riddle

First recorded before 1100; Middle English noun riddil, Old English hriddel, variant of hridder, hrīder; cognate with German Reiter; akin to Latin crībrum “sieve”; verb derivative of the noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use riddle in a sentence

The findings offer a possible solution to an outstanding riddle about the recent history of climate change.
Earth used to be cooler than we thought, which changes our math on global warming | Philip Kiefer | January 28, 2021 | Popular-Science
Such were the famous riddle of the Sphinx and the riddling answers of the ancient oracles.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 6 | Various
They bore holes right through it, riddling it completely with numerous storeys of horizontal galleries.
The Insect World | Louis Figuier
Thus by beating, stamping, and riddling in water, the stony substances are in a great measure separated.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines | Andrew Ure
This operation by the hand-sieve, is called riddling in the tub, or riddling by deposit.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines | Andrew Ure

He was doubly damned, for he had made truth a mere sport of intellectual riddling.
Where the Blue Begins | Christopher Morley

British Dictionary definitions for riddle (1 of 2)

riddle¹

/ (ˈrɪdəl) /

noun

a question, puzzle, or verse so phrased that ingenuity is required for elucidation of the answer or meaning; conundrum
a person or thing that puzzles, perplexes, or confuses; enigma

verb

to solve, explain, or interpret (a riddle or riddles)
(intr) to speak in riddles

Origin of riddle

Old English rǣdelle, rǣdelse, from rǣd counsel; related to Old Saxon rādislo, German Rätsel

Derived forms of riddle

riddler, noun

British Dictionary definitions for riddle (2 of 2)

riddle²

/ (ˈrɪdəl) /

verb(tr)

(usually foll by with) to pierce or perforate with numerous holes: riddled with bullets
to damage or impair

to put through a sieve; sift
to fill or pervade: the report was riddled with errors

noun

a sieve, esp a coarse one used for sand, grain, etc

Origin of riddle

Old English hriddel a sieve, variant of hridder; related to Latin crībrum sieve

Derived forms of riddle

riddler, noun

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

Browse