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puzzled

 - 3 dictionary results

puz⋅zle

[puhz-uhl] noun, verb, -zled, -zling.
–noun
1. a toy, problem, or other contrivance designed to amuse by presenting difficulties to be solved by ingenuity or patient effort.
2. something puzzling; a puzzling question, matter, or person.
3. a puzzled or perplexed condition; bewilderment.
4. a crossword puzzle: Did you do the puzzle in the newspaper today?
5. a jigsaw puzzle.
–verb (used with object)
6. to put (someone) at a loss; mystify; confuse; baffle: Her attitude puzzles me.
7. to frustrate or confound, as the understanding; perplex: The problem puzzled him for weeks.
8. to exercise (oneself, one's brain, etc.) over some problem or matter.
9. Archaic. to make intricate or complicated.
–verb (used without object)
10. to be perplexed or confused.
11. to ponder or study over some perplexing problem or matter.
12. puzzle out, to solve by careful study or effort: I was unable to puzzle out the message.

Origin:
1585–95; orig. uncert.


puz⋅zled⋅ly, adverb
puz⋅zled⋅ness, noun


2. Puzzle, riddle, enigma refer to something baffling or confusing that is to be solved. A puzzle is a question or problem, intricate enough to be perplexing to the mind; it is sometimes a contrivance made purposely perplexing to test one's ingenuity: a crossword puzzle; The reason for their behavior remains a puzzle. A riddle is an intentionally obscure statement or question, the meaning of or answer to which is to be arrived at only by guessing: the famous riddle of the Sphinx. Enigma, originally meaning riddle, now refers to some baffling problem with connotations of mysteriousness: He will always be an enigma to me. 6. confound.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To puzzled
puz·zle   (pŭz'əl)   
v.   puz·zled, puz·zling, puz·zles

v.   tr.
  1. To baffle or confuse mentally by presenting or being a difficult problem or matter.

  2. To clarify or solve (something confusing) by reasoning or study: He puzzled out the significance of the statement.

v.   intr.
  1. To be perplexed.

  2. To ponder over a problem in an effort to solve or understand it.

n.  
  1. Something, such as a game, toy, or problem, that requires ingenuity and often persistence in solving or assembling.

  2. Something that baffles or confuses.

  3. The condition of being perplexed; bewilderment.


[Origin unknown.]
puz'zler n.
Synonyms: These verbs mean to cause bafflement or confusion. Puzzle suggests difficulty in solving or interpreting something: "The poor creature puzzled me once . . . by a question merely natural and innocent" (Daniel Defoe).
Perplex stresses uncertainty or anxiety, as over reaching an understanding or finding a solution: a dilemma that perplexed the committee.
Mystify implies defying comprehension by obscuring facts: symbolism that mystifies me.
Bewilder emphasizes extreme mental confusion: "The old know what they want; the young are sad and bewildered" (Logan Pearsall Smith).
To confound is to confuse and astonish: God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise (I Corinthians 1:27).
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

puzzle  (v.)
c.1595, pusle "bewilder, confound," possibly frequentative of pose (v.) in obsolete sense of "perplex" (cf. nuzzle from nose). The noun meaning "state of being puzzled" is recorded from 1607, from the verb; meaning "perplexing question" is from 1655; that of "a toy contrived to test one's ingenuity" is from 1814.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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