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

Need another word that means the same as “puzzling”? Find 4 synonyms and 30 related words for “puzzling” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Puzzling” are: enigmatic, enigmatical, confusing, perplexing

Puzzling as an Adjective

Definitions of "Puzzling" as an adjective

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “puzzling” as an adjective can have the following definitions:

• Causing one to be puzzled; perplexing.
• Not clear to the understanding.
• Lacking clarity of meaning; causing confusion or perplexity.

Synonyms of "Puzzling" as an adjective (4 Words)

confusing	Causing confusion or disorientation. Being hospitalized can be confusing and distressing for a small child.
enigmatic	Difficult to interpret or understand; mysterious. An enigmatic smile.
enigmatical	Not clear to the understanding.
perplexing	Completely baffling; very puzzling. A perplexing problem.

Usage Examples of "Puzzling" as an adjective

• Only one very puzzling question remains unanswered.
• A puzzling statement.

Associations of "Puzzling" (30 Words)

ambiguous	Open to more than one interpretation; not having one obvious meaning. An ambiguous situation with no frame of reference.
arcane	Requiring secret or mysterious knowledge. Arcane procedures for electing people.
confuse	Make (someone) bewildered or perplexed. A lot of people confuse a stroke with a heart attack.
confusing	Causing confusion or disorientation. Being hospitalized can be confusing and distressing for a small child.
crossword	A puzzle consisting of a grid of squares and blanks into which words crossing vertically and horizontally are written according to clues. She settled down to do the crossword.
cryptic	Having a secret or hidden meaning- John Gunther. He found his boss s utterances too cryptic.
discombobulated	Having self-possession upset; thrown into confusion- G.B.Shaw. The hecklers pelted the discombobulated speaker with anything that came to hand.
disconcerted	Having self-possession upset; thrown into confusion. Looked at each other dumbly quite disconcerted.
enigmatic	Not clear to the understanding. Prophetic texts so enigmatic that their meaning has been disputed for centuries.
incomprehensible	Difficult to understand. A language which is incomprehensible to anyone outside the office.
inexplicable	Incapable of being explained or accounted for. For some inexplicable reason her mind went completely blank.
inscrutable	Of an obscure nature. Guy looked blankly inscrutable.
insoluble	Without hope of solution. An insoluble problem.
mysterious	(of a location) having an atmosphere of strangeness or secrecy. A mysterious benefactor provided the money.
occult	(of a disease or process) not accompanied by readily discernible signs or symptoms. A wooden screen designed to occult the competitors.
odd	An indefinite quantity more than that specified. She looked younger than her fifty odd years.
opaque	A substance for producing opaque areas on negatives. Opaque to X rays.
oracular	Holding or claiming the authority of an oracle. An ambiguous oracular remark.
perplexing	Completely baffling; very puzzling. A perplexing problem.
puzzle	A jigsaw puzzle. He loved to solve chessmate puzzles.
questioning	The raising of a doubt about or objection to something. The questioning mind of a child.
recondite	(of a subject or knowledge) little known; abstruse. Some recondite problem in historiography.
sibylline	Resembling or characteristic of a prophet or prophecy. Thoroughly sibylline in most of his pronouncements.
strange	Denoting or involving a flavour (variety) of unstable quark having an electric charge of -1/3. Strange quarks have similar properties to down quarks and bottom quarks, but are distinguished from them by having an intermediate mass. It is strange how things change.
subtlety	The quality or state of being subtle. The textural subtlety of Degas.
unaccountable	Unable to be explained. He was not only the most charismatic man she d ever met but also the most complex and unaccountable.
unclear	Not clear to the mind. The motive for this killing is unclear.
unfathomable	Incapable of being fully understood. Mountains of unfathomable scale.
unintelligible	Impossible to understand. Dolphin sounds are unintelligible to humans.
weird	Suggesting the operation of supernatural influences. Some trick of the moonlight some weird effect of shadow.