PUZZLING Synonyms: 214 Similar and Opposite Words

puzzling 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of puzzling

as in inexplicable

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as in perplexing

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Dissimilar Words

puzzling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of puzzle

as in baffling

to throw into a state of mental uncertainty it is the cause of the disease that puzzles doctors

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of puzzling

Adjective

Yet, those teams don't make Tyler Dragon's list of the four teams that had the most puzzling offseasons. — Jim Reineking, USA Today, 6 July 2026 However, another round of lawsuits was somewhat puzzling. — Doug Gollan, Forbes.com, 6 June 2026

Verb

Plus, the powerful cosmic titans get really puzzling when astronomers using the JWST spot them before the universe was even 1 billion years old. — Robert Lea, Space.com, 19 July 2026 The uncertainty over Man on Fire is somewhat puzzling given its performance. — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 17 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for puzzling

Recent Examples of Synonyms for puzzling

Adjective

Jones encapsulates Blackpool’s inexplicable pull and its inevitable paralysis.

— George Francis Lee, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2026
And for some inexplicable reason, her own coach is defending the player who delivered it.

— Amber Harding OutKick, FOXNews.com, 9 Aug. 2026

Definition of inexplicable

Adjective

The second surprising ingredient was the most perplexing to me.

— Josh Miller, Southern Living, 9 Aug. 2026
Despite a relatively long history of drive-through bans, the idea is still novel and perplexing to Californians who love their burgers and love their cars.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2026

Definition of perplexing

Verb

Despite some protests about a dog contributing to the game, Buddy — clad in a bright blue jersey and two pairs of basketball kicks — scores baffling basket after baffling basket, leaving the other team shocked.

— Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 27 July 2026
While Loathe’s baffling compositional choices may jump out first, the album’s most glaring flaw is its production.

— Patrick Lyons, Pitchfork, 16 July 2026

Definition of baffling

Adjective

But when they’re interrupted by the arrival of a mysterious beige van — the same one viewers may have spotted in the preceding episodes — Bret uses the opportunity to ask Terry to take him home.

— Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 13 Aug. 2026
Final Invasion begins when a mysterious UAP satellite crashes in the New Mexico desert.

— Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of mysterious

Adjective

Grief is one of the most confounding aspects of the human experience.

— Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 17 Apr. 2026
In 2021, one year into D’Amaro’s tenure and following COVID shutdowns, Disney did away with FastPass and introduced a confounding and very costly series of pay-to-skip passes, which require timing advanced booking of limited slots in these formerly free-to-enter shorter lines.

— Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 5 Feb. 2026

Definition of confounding

Adjective

Years earlier at her former lab in Ohio, chromosomes in mouse eggs and embryos began dividing in bizarre ways, creating the kinds of genetic errors that can lead to Down syndrome and other chromosomal disorders.

— Sandee LaMotte, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
Her videos were outrageous and conspiratorial, and the more elaborate and bizarre her stories became, the more people online were drawn to her.

— Zander Sherman, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of bizarre

Cite this Entry

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“Puzzling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puzzling. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of puzzling

adjective

verb

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