Synonyms of puzzled

puzzled 1 of 2

adjective

1

as in bewildered

Related Words

• bewildered
• bemused
• surprised
• startled
• wondering
• overwhelmed
• staggered
• stunned
• awed
• stupefied
• dumbfounded
• astounded
• amazed
• flabbergasted
• astonished
• awestruck
• marveling
• open-mouthed

Dissimilar Words

• unimpressed
• indifferent
• disinterested
• unconcerned
• uninterested
• dispassionate
• impassive
• bored
• incurious
• unemotional
• jaded
• emotionless

2

as in quizzical

Related Words

• quizzical
• wary
• cautious
• paranoid
• leery
• incredulous
• skeptical
• careful
• watchful
• critical
• questioning
• disbelieving
• guarded
• doubting
• distrustful
• experienced
• cynical
• suspicious
• unbelieving
• mistrustful
• inquisitive
• curious
• show-me
• unconvinced
• unsure
• negativistic
• gun-shy
• uncertain
• suspecting
• hesitant
• worldly
• nosy
• inquiring
• undecided
• knowing
• undetermined
• sophisticated
• worldly-wise
• unsettled
• snoopy

Dissimilar Words

• credulous
• naive
• gullible
• uncritical
• sure
• unsophisticated
• unquestioning
• certain
• trusting
• simple
• ingenuous
• trustful
• wide-eyed
• confident
• green
• innocent
• positive
• simpleminded
• unknowing
• unworldly
• inexperienced
• impractical
• childlike
• idealistic
• callow
• raw
• deceived
• careless
• unsuspecting
• unsuspicious
• heedless
• unwary
• duped
• beguiled
• tricked
• gulled

puzzled

2 of 2

verb

past tense of puzzle

as in baffled

to throw into a state of mental uncertainty

it is the cause of the disease that puzzles doctors

Synonyms & Similar Words

• baffled
• perplexed
• confused
• bewildered
• mystified
• embarrassed
• befuddled
• stunned
• flummoxed
• bemused
• vexed
• confounded
• posed
• flustered
• bothered
• disturbed
• rattled
• disoriented
• discombobulated
• upset
• bamboozled
• muddled
• fuddled
• mazed
• foxed
• addled
• muddied
• buffaloed
• got
• befogged
• graveled
• unsettled
• stumped
• beat
• nonplussed
• disconcerted
• stuck
• blew one's mind
• mortified
• dismayed
• discomfited
• agitated
• went to one's head
• distressed
• abashed
• perturbed
• disquieted
• fazed
• chagrined
• weirded out
• discomforted
• deceived
• misled
• discountenanced
• discomposed
• fooled
• unhinged
• deluded
• duped
• tricked
• misguided
• beguiled
• humbugged
• hoodwinked
• strung along
• gulled
• snowed
• hoaxed
• cozened
• took in

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• satisfied
• assured
• informed
• reassured
• enlightened

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of puzzled

Adjective

Residents struggled to understand the process of receiving help from FEMA, people were beset by scams and price gouging, and tenants whose homes had been destroyed or made uninhabitable puzzled over their rights. — David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 23 July 2026

Many going to work Friday morning in the Financial District were a little puzzled by the new development. — Andrea Nakano, CBS News, 12 July 2026

The umpires conferred and spoke with Venable, who seemed puzzled by the inquisition. — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 20 June 2026

The query came from a man — puzzled look on his face, riding MARTA — stopped at Five Points station. — Gavin Godfrey, AJC.com, 17 June 2026

Just how much plants can sense in the world around them has long puzzled researchers. — K. R. Callaway, Scientific American, 22 Apr. 2026

Clean energy companies are even more puzzled. — Justin Worland, Time, 26 Mar. 2026

High above the forests of the Sauerland, though a popular hiking spot today, individuals from the Iron Age decided to fortify this location with rocks, but why these Iron Age men would secure the mountain puzzled archaeologists. — Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 7 Mar. 2026

Two of them seemed puzzled by the phrase, struggling to parse out its meaning, while the third instinctively got it. — Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2026

Verb

The fire chief, Gene Perreault, who was there during the walk-through, tells me the piles puzzled investigators. — Zander Sherman, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 2026

Tempo coach Sandy Brondello seemed puzzled by the absence of violet. — Christian Babcock, Mercury News, 3 Aug. 2026

Analysts were puzzled by both the news itself, as well as the timing of it. — Elsa Ohlen, CNBC, 3 Aug. 2026

The experimental projections, generated from archival Wagner imagery and historical scenes including late former Chancellor Helmut Kohl and the 9/11 attacks, formed a swirling collage that left many spectators puzzled and restless. — Los Angeles Times, 2 Aug. 2026

Like many oil market observers, I have been puzzled by the relatively low level of oil prices given what has been one of the largest supply disruptions in history. — Michael Lynch, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026

For 25 years, physicists have been puzzled by an apparent one-part-in-a-million problem. — Matt Von Hippel, Quanta Magazine, 29 July 2026

No hotspot exists beneath Sicily, leaving scientists puzzled. — Refractor, 27 July 2026

This kind of arrangement isn’t new—when ARTnews broached the subject with New York’s Michael Hort, who collects with his wife Susan, he was puzzled as to why there should even be a story about it. — Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 22 July 2026