as in mysteries
something hard to understand or explain
why he chose to sink all of his money into a failing business is a real head-scratcher
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for head-scratchers
Noun
-
These are some of life’s great mysteries.—
Hannah Madlener,
Glamour,
24 Apr. 2026 -
Balls and strikes are simple, at least compared to the mysteries of goalie interference.—
Sean McIndoe,
New York Times,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Toss in plenty of brutal murders, bizarre prophecies, time-bending enigmas, and haunting hallucinations — all seemingly tied to Lucy’s mysterious meetings with the Hannibal Lecter-like Gideon Shepherd (Peter Capaldi) — and this one's well worth losing six hours of sleep over.—
Matt Cabral,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Simpson has been one of the biggest enigmas in this year’s draft.—
Antwan Staley,
New York Daily News,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!—
Kathleen Wong,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Apple works at this vertiginous juncture where Emily Dickinson goes rumbling into Etta James and, lately, Beyoncé; where Nico solves puzzles with Randy Newman, Kurt Weill, Nina Simone and the Beatles.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Head-scratchers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/head-scratchers. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
