PUZZLE: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for PUZZLE?

Need another word that means the same as “puzzle”? Find 64 synonyms and 30 related words for “puzzle” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Puzzle” are: amaze, baffle, beat, bewilder, dumbfound, flummox, get, gravel, mystify, nonplus, perplex, pose, stick, stupefy, vex, bewildering, mystifying, bemusing, think hard about, give much thought to, rack one's brains about, mull over, muse over, ponder, brood about, contemplate, meditate on, consider, reflect on, deliberate on, chew over, turn over in one's mind, cogitate on, wonder about, ask oneself about, work out, understand, comprehend, think out, think through, sort out, reason out, solve, make sense of, get to the bottom of, make head or tail of, unravel, untangle, decipher, decode, find the key to, piece together, mystifier, puzzler, teaser, enigma, mystery, paradox, conundrum, poser, riddle, question, question mark, problem

Puzzle as a Noun

Definitions of "Puzzle" as a noun

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “puzzle” as a noun can have the following definitions:

• A person or thing that is difficult to understand or explain; an enigma.
• A particularly baffling problem that is said to have a correct solution.
• A game, toy, or problem designed to test ingenuity or knowledge.
• A game that tests your ingenuity.
• A jigsaw puzzle.

Synonyms of "Puzzle" as a noun (12 Words)

conundrum	A question asked for amusement, typically one with a pun in its answer; a riddle. One of the most difficult conundrums for the experts.
enigma	A person or thing that is mysterious or difficult to understand. Madeleine was still an enigma to him.
mystery	Something that is difficult or impossible to understand or explain. The mystery of Christ.
mystifier	A particularly baffling problem that is said to have a correct solution.
paradox	A person or thing that combines contradictory features or qualities. Parmenides was the original advocate of the philosophical power of paradox.
poser	A person who habitually pretends to be something he is not.
problem	(in chess) an arrangement of pieces in which the solver has to achieve a specified result. A problem family.
puzzler	A person who solves puzzles as a pastime. That s a real puzzler.
question	An instance of questioning. Edward was the only one she obeyed without question.
question mark	A sentence of inquiry that asks for a reply.
riddle	A coarse sieve (as for gravel. The riddle of her death.
teaser	A worker who teases wool. Promotional teasers in every commercial break.

Usage Examples of "Puzzle" as a noun

• A puzzle with 500 pieces.
• He loved to solve chessmate puzzles.
• Realization dawned as the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.
• A book with picture puzzles.
• Those who solve this puzzle in the shortest time are eligible for awards.
• That's a real puzzler.
• The meaning of the poem has always been a puzzle.

Puzzle as a Verb

Definitions of "Puzzle" as a verb

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “puzzle” as a verb can have the following definitions:

• Solve or understand something by thinking hard.
• Be a mystery or bewildering to.
• Think hard about something because one cannot understand it.
• Cause (someone) to feel confused because they cannot understand something.
• Be uncertain about; think about without fully understanding or being able to decide.

Synonyms of "Puzzle" as a verb (52 Words)

amaze	Surprise (someone) greatly; fill with astonishment. He has been amazed by the quality of the employees at the bank.
ask oneself about	Direct or put; seek an answer to.
baffle	Restrain the emission of (sound, fluid, etc. To baffle the noise further I pad the gunwales.
beat	Shape by beating. Her heart was beating fast.
bemusing	Cause to be confused emotionally.
bewilder	Be a mystery or bewildering to. His reaction had bewildered her.
bewildering	Be a mystery or bewildering to.
brood about	Be in a huff and display one’s displeasure.
chew over	Chew (food); to bite and grind with the teeth.
cogitate on	Use or exercise the mind or one’s power of reason in order to make inferences, decisions, or arrive at a solution or judgments.
comprehend	Include, comprise, or encompass. I simply couldn t comprehend what had happened.
consider	Show consideration for take into account. They considered the possibility of a strike.
contemplate	Think intently and at length, as for spiritual purposes. I contemplated leaving school and taking a full time job.
decipher	Convert (a text written in code, or a coded signal) into normal language. Can you decipher this letter.
decode	Convert code into ordinary language. A handbook to help parents decode street language.
deliberate on	Discuss the pros and cons of an issue.
dumbfound	Be a mystery or bewildering to. She was dumbfounded at the sight that met her eyes.
find the key to	Accept and make use of one’s personality, abilities, and situation.
flummox	Perplex (someone) greatly; bewilder. I was completely flummoxed by the whole thing.
get	Take vengeance on or get even. Where did she get these news.
get to the bottom of	Be a mystery or bewildering to.
give much thought to	Manifest or show.
gravel	Cover with gravel. They gravelled the road.
make head or tail of	Behave in a certain way.
make sense of	Give certain properties to something.
meditate on	Reflect deeply on a subject.
mull over	Reflect deeply on a subject.
muse over	Reflect deeply on a subject.
mystify	Make mysterious. Mystify the story.
mystifying	Make mysterious.
nonplus	Be a mystery or bewildering to. Diane was nonplussed by such an odd question.
perplex	Make more complicated. They were perplexing a subject plain in itself.
piece together	Repair by adding pieces.
ponder	Reflect deeply on a subject. I pondered the question of what clothes to wear for the occasion.
pose	Assume a posture as for artistic purposes. We don t know the woman who posed for Leonardo so often.
rack one's brains about	Stretch to the limits.
reason out	Decide by reasoning; draw or come to a conclusion.
reflect on	Be bright by reflecting or casting light.
solve	Find the solution. Solve an equation.
sort out	Arrange or order by classes or categories.
stick	Come or be in close contact with stick or hold together and resist separation. She sticks to her principles.
stupefy	Make dull or stupid or muddle with drunkenness or infatuation. The amount they spend on clothes would appal their parents and stupefy their grandparents.
think hard about	Judge or regard; look upon; judge.
think out	Bring into a given condition by mental preoccupation.
think through	Have or formulate in the mind.
turn over in one's mind	Pass to the other side of.
understand	Be understanding of. You don t need to explain I understand.
unravel	Undo (twisted, knitted, or woven threads). The sweater unraveled.
untangle	Free from a tangled or twisted state. He knew he d have to untangle a financial mess and somehow restore investor confidence.
vex	Be a mystery or bewildering to. Thou shalt not vex a stranger.
wonder about	Have a wish or desire to know something.
work out	Find the solution to (a problem or question) or understand the meaning of.

Usage Examples of "Puzzle" as a verb

• We puzzled over her sudden departure.
• She was puzzled by the doctor's manner.
• She was still puzzling over this problem when she reached the office.
• She was trying to puzzle out who the speakers were.

Associations of "Puzzle" (30 Words)

abstruse	Difficult to understand; obscure. The professor s lectures were so abstruse that students tended to avoid them.
arcane	Understood by few; mysterious or secret. The arcane science of dowsing.
baffle	Be a mystery or bewildering to. A baffle plate.
confound	Mistake one thing for another. The inflation figure confounded economic analysts.
conundrum	A question asked for amusement, typically one with a pun in its answer; a riddle. One of the most difficult conundrums for the experts.
convoluted	Highly complex or intricate and occasionally devious. Convoluted legal language.
crossword	A puzzle in which words corresponding to numbered clues are to be found and written in to squares in the puzzle. She settled down to do the crossword.
cryptic	Having a secret or hidden meaning- John Gunther. Cryptic plumage is thought to minimize predation.
cryptogram	A piece of writing in code or cipher.
enigma	A difficult problem. Madeleine was still an enigma to him.
enigmatic	Difficult to interpret or understand; mysterious. Prophetic texts so enigmatic that their meaning has been disputed for centuries.
esoteric	Confined to and understandable by only an enlightened inner circle. A compilation of esoteric philosophical theories.
esoterica	Secrets known only to an initiated minority. A professor of such esoterica as angelology and comparative shamanism.
inexplicable	Incapable of being explained or accounted for. Inexplicable errors.
jigsaw	A portable power saw with a reciprocating blade; can be used with a variety of blades depending on the application and kind of cut; generally have a plate that rides on the surface that is being cut. Help the police put all the pieces of the jigsaw together.
labyrinthine	Resembling a labyrinth in form or complexity. A labyrinthine network of tortuous footpaths.
maze	Be dazed and confused. They were trapped in a menacing maze of corridors.
memento	A reminder of past events. You can purchase a memento of your visit.
mysterious	Having an import not apparent to the senses nor obvious to the intelligence; beyond ordinary understanding. The new insurance policy is written without cryptic or mysterious terms.
mystery	A religious belief based on divine revelation, especially one regarded as beyond human understanding. A mystery guest.
puzzling	Causing one to be puzzled; perplexing. A puzzling statement.
rebus	A puzzle in which words are represented by combinations of pictures and individual letters; for instance, apex might be represented by a picture of an ape followed by a letter X.
recondite	Difficult to penetrate; incomprehensible to one of ordinary understanding or knowledge. Some recondite problem in historiography.
riddle	Set a difficult problem or riddle. They started asking riddles and telling jokes.
secret	Given in confidence or in secret. A secret bride.
sibylline	Having a secret or hidden meaning. Thoroughly sibylline in most of his pronouncements.
solve	Find the solution to (a problem or question) or understand the meaning of. Solve for x.
trivia	Details, considerations, or pieces of information of little importance or value. We fill our days with meaningless trivia.
unfathomable	(of water or a natural feature) impossible to measure the extent of. Mountains of unfathomable scale.
unsolved	Not solved. An unsolved mystery.