puzzled 1 of 2

adjective

1
as in bewildered

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2
as in quizzical

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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

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 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
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 When casting director Nancy Nayor was young, her parents were puzzled by her entertainment choices. — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 16 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for puzzled
  1. bewildered
  2. quizzical
  3. baffled
  4. bemused
  5. wary
  6. perplexed
  7. surprised
  8. cautious
Adjective
  • One bewildered South African man said protesters had burst into his home and stolen the lunch from his plate.
    — Julie Bourdin, Christian Science Monitor, 28 July 2026
  • In a little corner of my mind, however, history will always mean the tragic smashing of individual lives by its cruel hands and the scattering of bewildered people reeling from its blows.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 July 2026
Definition of bewildered
Adjective
  • Dozens of media outlets, from international agencies to local TV stations to true crime podcasters, were inside the Lexington County courthouse to again chronicle every forehead rub and quizzical look from the once rich and imposing Southern lawyer.
    — Jeffrey Collins, Chicago Tribune, 29 June 2026
  • By widening the lens, Clark is able to redirect the book’s gaze from the mother toward a quizzical, sometimes critical, but not unaffectionate portrait of two generations of political activism, with the attendant self-involvement and domestic negligence.
    — James Wood, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
Definition of quizzical
Verb
  • The news conference that followed left some economists baffled.
    — Matt Peterson, CNBC, 30 July 2026
  • Another passerby was baffled by how empty the corner now looks.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 29 July 2026
Definition of baffled
Adjective
  • To his right, a young man is shooting on his iPhone while his friend interviews a bemused passerby.
    — Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 18 July 2026
  • The leasing officer who let us in watches from the doorway with a bemused smile as Parks films the space on her phone, clacking around the hardwood floors in nude heels and a backless seafoam dress, a Coach bag slung over her shoulder.
    — Clio Chang, Curbed, 14 July 2026
Definition of bemused
Adjective
  • Tokyo has grown increasingly wary of the yen's decline, which recently dropped to its weakest level against the dollar in nearly four decades.
    — Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 3 Aug. 2026
  • With some wary residents questioning whether Ebola even exists, and health workers in one of Congo’s most remote and volatile regions struggling to respond to the outbreak with few supplies, pregnant women have less care than ever.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of wary
Verb
  • Workers at Doherty Staffing Solutions were perplexed when strangers started calling the office in response to recruitment texts — texts the firm never sent.
    — Bill Lukitsch, Boston Herald, 13 July 2026
  • The Wiener Kitchen diners weren’t the only Kansas Citians perplexed by this description.
    — Katelyn Umholtz, Kansas City Star, 10 July 2026
Definition of perplexed
Adjective
  • But if a contender needs a hard-nosed, do-it-all weapon for a playoff push, don't be surprised if his phone rings.
    — Alejandro Avila OutKick, FOXNews.com, 30 July 2026
  • The recent breakdown in the ceasefire has definitely hurt the situation but no one is surprised.
    — Chloe Taylor,Sam Meredith,Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 30 July 2026
Definition of surprised
Adjective
  • Partners and distributors are being more cautious because Anta prefers a direct-to-consumer model, Hoeld said.
    — Cathrin Schaer, Footwear News, 31 July 2026
  • While inflation remains volatile across countries, influencing cautious planning, salary increases are relatively high compared to pre-pandemic norms.
    — John M. Bremen, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
Definition of cautious

Browse Nearby Words

puzzle
puzzled
puzzled (out)
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Cite this Entry

“Puzzled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puzzled. Accessed 6 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on puzzled

Nglish: Translation of puzzled for Spanish Speakers

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