1
as in inexplicable
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
2
as in perplexing
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
as in baffling
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
it is the cause of the disease that puzzles doctors
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Kansas City Star,
19 May 2026
For devoted Auteuil fans, his lack of an international profile is genuinely puzzling.
—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
14 May 2026
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
29 May 2026
Johnson insists that feels fine, so the loss of velocity is puzzling to the Angels.
—
Jeff Fletcher,
Oc Register,
18 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for puzzling
Adjective
Lugging one of the least productive offenses in the American League, no doubt the Royals would like to get to that same place about Caglianone — who after a puzzling day off Sunday had two doubles in KC’s 3-1 loss to Boston on Monday at Kauffman Stadium.
—
Kansas City Star,
19 May 2026
For devoted Auteuil fans, his lack of an international profile is genuinely puzzling.
—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
14 May 2026
Verb
Police are investigating after puzzling footage posted online shows a group of men emerging from a manhole in Brooklyn early Friday morning.
—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
29 May 2026
Johnson insists that feels fine, so the loss of velocity is puzzling to the Angels.
—
Jeff Fletcher,
Oc Register,
18 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for puzzling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for puzzling
Adjective
-
The move is widely deemed inexplicable and inexcusable, as George is considered an inconsistent, injury-prone downgrade from Brown, despite the draft capital.
-
The organization said Kirbiyik, who spent 10 years alongside Deniz, had not noticed any signs of illness and was shocked by his sudden and inexplicable death.
Adjective
-
For some perplexing reason, Gia has decided to die on the hill that Ava is lying, despite having no way to prove that and despite the fact that Ava has no reason to lie.
-
Some viewers at home, however, found the clue perplexing, noting that the clue could also be read as referring to the two most recent Best Song winners.
Verb
-
The Illinois numbers, especially this year’s, are baffling experts.
-
For more than four minutes Darnold drove downfield, connecting on three of four passes, baffling the pass rushers, bleeding the clock, and by the time the Seahawks finally gave the ball back, the Rams had only 25 seconds to live.
Adjective
-
Beulah's spurned heir Joaquin (Juan Pablo Raba) calls up the mysterious Mariana (Raoul Max Trujillo) to help with his many problems, which include his ranch-usurping half-brother Rob-Will and those Duttons from Montana.
-
Nicolas Winding Refn’s audacious return to feature filmmaking is a gorgeous, mysterious act of cinema, sensorial and transgressive, that demands to be experienced on its own terms.
Adjective
-
Grief is one of the most confounding aspects of the human experience.
-
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.
Verb
-
Similarly, the defensively bewildering 9-6 loss the Wild suffered to start Round 2 in Colorado set the tone for five games that would ultimately be their undoing.
-
But even more than engaging the big ideas that Emma’s revelation triggers — pun somewhat intended — Lee and Borli wanted to craft an experience that would mimic its main characters’ bewildering interiority.
Adjective
-
There have been times when acts of atrocity have been going on — and gosh, some of those things are incomprehensible — yet humanity has found a way.
-
Being joyful there — in the Dominican Republic, where small shacks and houses pieced together by junkyard scraps sometimes hold families with over a dozen members — seems incomprehensible.
Adjective
-
When Aaron Paul’s Jeff attempts to make a suspicious deposit, the bank teller (a game Nina Dobrev) demands to be in on the deal, in the sort of neo-noir twist that could suggest a rich film world populated with bizarre freaks of all stripes.
-
In the canon of DC Comics, Comet is truly a bizarre character.
Cite this Entry
“Puzzling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puzzling. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
