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- pronunciation:
- puh
z
 l
- parts of speech:
- noun, transitive verb, intransitive verb
- phrases:
- puzzle out
- features:
- Word Combinations (noun, verb), Word Builder, Grammatical Patterns
| part of speech: |
noun |
| definition 1: |
a toy or enjoyable problem that requires thought, and sometimes manipulation of something, for a solution.
He enjoys solving word puzzles.She spent all afternoon doing a jigsaw puzzle.
- similar words:
- acrostic, anagram, Chinese puzzle, conundrum, crossword puzzle, jigsaw puzzle, logogriph, riddle, word square
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| definition 2: |
anything that mystifies, confuses, or perplexes.
The crime was still a puzzle to the police.- synonyms:
- enigma, mystery, riddle
- similar words:
- arcanum, conundrum, dilemma, knot, labyrinth, maze, perplexity, predicament, problem, quandary, stickler, tangle
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| related words: |
enigma |
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| part of speech: |
transitive verb |
| inflections: |
puzzles, puzzling, puzzled |
| definition: |
to mystify or confuse; perplex; baffle.
The book's ending puzzled me; it just didn't seem to make sense.It puzzled the police that the doors and windows were all locked from the inside.[it + verb + smby + that + clause
]
It puzzled me when she said she was leaving so soon.[it + verb + smby + when + clause
]
- synonyms:
- baffle, confound, confuse, mystify, perplex, stump
- similar words:
- bamboozle, beat, bewilder, bother, buffalo, disconcert, fog, frustrate, nonplus, pose, shock, stagger, stick, vex
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| related words: |
confound, evade, intrigue, obfuscate |
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| part of speech: |
intransitive verb |
| definition: |
to think about something that mystifies, confuses, or perplexes.
I puzzled for days about his strange remark.Numerous scholars have puzzled over the meaning of this passage.- similar words:
- brood, chew over, cogitate, consider, contemplate, meditate, mull, ponder, study
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| related words: |
riddle, wonder |
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| phrase: |
puzzle out |
| derivations: |
puzzledly (adv.), puzzlingly (adv.) |
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