unriddle

American

[uhn-rid-l] / ʌnˈrɪd l /

verb (used with object)

unriddled, unriddling

to solve (a riddle, mystery, etc.).

unriddle British

/ ʌnˈrɪdəl /

verb

(tr) to solve or puzzle out

"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

Other Word Forms

unriddler noun

Etymology

Origin of unriddle

First recorded in 1580–90; un- ² + riddle ¹

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.

As I drank, I became aware that I was perched on the edge of my seat, fully at attention as I attempted to unriddle its intriguing, distantly familiar contents.

From Salon • Feb. 15, 2024

In Marsala, I went back for seconds then thirds of Ristorante I Bucanieri's eggplant parm, trying to unriddle its confoundingly luxe texture.

From Salon • Jul. 31, 2023

She told me that Wallace's crush was "a mystery I haven't been able to unriddle."

From New York Times • Sep. 12, 2012

A Yankee boarder at a down-at-heel Alabama plantation helps a slow but sure Southern sheriff unriddle two murders that disrupt the peace of a poor, proud family.

From Time Magazine Archive

"Set thy wits, and those of yonder gaping fellows, to work to unriddle them," was the reply of the degraded youth as he buried his spurs deep in his horse's flanks.

From Captain Kyd (Vol 1 of 2) or, The Wizard of the Sea by Ingraham, Jonathon Holt

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023