Puzzle

Quick meaning: Puzzle is a noun meaning To (intentionally) make (something) complicated or confused, and so difficult to resolve or understand; to confuse, to complicate.

Meaning

To (intentionally) make (something) complicated or confused, and so difficult to resolve or understand; to confuse, to complicate.

More Meanings

1. To cause (someone) to not know what to do due to some problem, situation, etc.; to bewilder, to confound, to perplex.
2. (uncountable) The state of feeling confused or mystified because one cannot understand a complicated matter, a problem, etc.; bewilderment, confusion; (countable) often in in a puzzle: an instance of this.
3. (countable) A thing such as a complicated matter or a problem which is difficult to make sense of or understand; also, a person who is difficult to make sense of or understand; an enigma.
4. (countable) Often preceded by a descriptive word: a game or toy, or a problem, requiring some effort to complete or work out, which is intended as a pastime and/or to test one's mental ability.
5. To cause (oneself or someone, or their mind, etc.) to feel confused or mystified because they cannot understand a complicated matter, a problem, etc.; to confuse, to mystify, to perplex.
6. To use (one's brain or mind) to try to work out a complicated matter, a problem, etc.; also, to try to work out (a complicated matter, a problem, etc.).
7. (countable, hunting, obsolete) Short for puzzle-peg (“a piece of wood secured under a dog's jaw to keep the dog's nose away from the ground so that it uses the scent in the air to track its quarry, and to prevent the dog from tearing the quarry once found”).

Example Sentences

Where he went after he left the house is a puzzle.

He went away on the word, leaving me with a new mystery to think of, a new puzzle to grapple with.

He is a puzzle to the servants, who are fearful of being too obsequious, or not civil enough, to him.

About the painting I have a great puzzle in my head between [George] Vertue, Mr. D'Urry, and Bishop Tanner [Thomas Tanner?].

Word Forms

• puzzles
• puzzling
• puzzled
• puzzlest
• puzzledst
• puzzleth

Synonyms for puzzle

Depending on context, synonyms include bafflement, perplexity, conundrum, mystery, brainteaser, poser.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include mystify, bewilder, baffle, perplex, nonplus, flummox.

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