puzzling


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puz·zle

 (pŭz′əl)
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; an enigma: the puzzle of the author's true identity.
3. The condition of being perplexed; bewilderment: I'm really in a puzzle over how this happened.
v. puz·zled, puz·zling, puz·zles
v.tr.
1. To baffle or confuse mentally by presenting or being a difficult problem or matter. See Synonyms at perplex.
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.
[Origin unknown.]
puz′zler n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adj.1.puzzling - not clear to the understanding; "I didn't grasp the meaning of that enigmatic comment until much later"; "prophetic texts so enigmatic that their meaning has been disputed for centuries"
enigmatic, enigmatical
uncomprehensible, incomprehensible - difficult to understand; "the most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible"- A. Einstein
2.puzzling - lacking clarity of meaning; causing confusion or perplexity; "sent confusing signals to Iraq"; "perplexing to someone who knew nothing about it"; "a puzzling statement"
perplexing, confusing
unclear - not clear to the mind; "the law itself was unclear on that point"; "the reason for their actions is unclear to this day"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

puzzling

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

puzzling

adjective
Difficult to explain or understand:
arcane, cabalistic, cryptic, enigmatic, mysterious, mystic, mystical, mystifying, occult.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
مُحَيِّرمُرْبِك، مُحَيِّر
záhadný
forvirrende
hämmentävä
zbunjujućinerazumljivzamršen
furîulegur
困らせる
당황하게 하는
förbryllande
ทำให้งงงวย
khó giải quyết

puzzling

[ˈpʌzlɪŋ] ADJ → desconcertante
it is puzzling that → es raro or curioso que ...
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

puzzling

[ˈpʌzlɪŋ] adj → déconcertant(e)
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

puzzling

adj → rätselhaft; story, mechanism, attitude, question → verwirrend; to be puzzling to somebody → jdm rätselhaft sein; the puzzling thing is that … → das Verblüffende an der Sache ist, dass …
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

puzzling

[ˈpʌzlɪŋ] adj (question) → poco chiaro/a; (attitude, set of instructions) → incomprensibile
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

puzzle

(ˈpazl) verb
1. to perplex, baffle or bewilder. The question puzzled them; What puzzles me is how he got here so soon.
2. to think long and carefully about a problem etc. I puzzled over the sum for hours.
noun
1. a problem that causes a lot of thought. Her behaviour was a puzzle to him.
2. a kind of game or toy to test one's thinking, knowledge or skill. a jig-saw puzzle; a crossword puzzle.
ˈpuzzling adjective
difficult to understand. a puzzling remark.
puzzle out
to solve (a problem etc).
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

puzzling

→ مُحَيِّر záhadný forvirrende verwirrend δυσνόητος desconcertante hämmentävä déroutant zbunjujući sconcertante 困らせる 당황하게 하는 onbegrijpelijk gåtefull zakłopotany incompreensível приводящий в замешательство förbryllande ทำให้งงงวย şaşırtıcı khó giải quyết 迷惑人的
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
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References in classic literature ?
And sometimes the grown-ups answer our question and make the puzzling things clear to us, sometimes they answer yet do not make the puzzling things any clearer to us, and sometimes they tell us not to trouble, that we will understand when we grow older.
And just as among little folks there are some who ask more questions and who "want to know" more than others, so among grown-ups there are some who more than others seek for the answer to those puzzling question.
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Hard is the path from A to Z, And puzzling to a curly head, Yet leads to Books--Green, Blue, and Red.
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Pudd'nhead was at home waiting for them and putting in his time puzzling over a thing which had come under his notice that morning.
He was now awaiting for the twins, and still puzzling over the problem of who that girl might be, and how she happened to be in that young fellow's room at daybreak in the morning.
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That's a most puzzling expression for a natural science man, do you understand?
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Tulliver did not willingly write a letter, and found the relation between spoken and written language, briefly known as spelling, one of the most puzzling things in this puzzling world.
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One thing was puzzling him, a little thing that would have puzzled the world had it known.
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Here was another puzzling question; and as Alice could not think of any good reason, and as the Caterpillar seemed to be in a VERY unpleasant state of mind, she turned away.
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I went slowly along, puzzling about the machines, and had been too intent upon them to notice the gradual diminution of the light, until Weena's increasing apprehensions drew my attention.
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"Yes, I have considered yours, frequently," I answered, puzzling over what I had seen in her eyes and puzzled by her sudden change of subject.
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Thus may this puzzling phenomenon be explained, unless there be something over and above all that one has ever conjectured, seen, perceived, or experienced; which is just within the bounds of possibility."
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