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
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 head-scratchers
The season has been plagued by regular head-scratchers.
—
Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 28 May 2026
The extraordinary strength of that lineup seems even more pronounced following the conclusion of a 2026 festival that, by consensus and by comparison, was a bit of a disappointment—not without its good and even great films, though with many head-scratchers in between.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 27 May 2026
Some lineup decisions were head-scratchers, but there was a mandate to try to develop the young guys as much as possible, and Warsofsky gave them a longer leash.
—Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 24 Apr. 2026
Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 28 May 2026
The extraordinary strength of that lineup seems even more pronounced following the conclusion of a 2026 festival that, by consensus and by comparison, was a bit of a disappointment—not without its good and even great films, though with many head-scratchers in between.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 27 May 2026
Some lineup decisions were head-scratchers, but there was a mandate to try to develop the young guys as much as possible, and Warsofsky gave them a longer leash.
—Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 24 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for head-scratchers
Noun
-
New York — One of the biggest mysteries of the global economy is why the oil market has remained so calm during one of the greatest supply shocks in history.—
Matt Egan,
CNN Money,
9 June 2026
-
Solving the mysteries of Lewis’s art hasn’t been easy.—
Zachary Fine,
New Yorker,
8 June 2026
Noun
-
Bob Gray is one of the big enigmas in the book that are intentionally put there to create tension and are never solved.—
Scott Huver,
Deadline,
26 Apr. 2026
-
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
Noun
-
Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!—
Liza Esquibias,
USA Today,
10 June 2026
-
To test that, the final group completed cognitively demanding games such as mazes and shape puzzles called tangrams that contained no academic content.—
Supreet Kaur,
Scientific American,
10 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Head-scratchers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/head-scratchers. Accessed 15 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
