as in mysteries
something hard to understand or explain
the final fate of the colonists at Roanoke remains a puzzle to this very day
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in baffles
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
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Recent Examples of puzzles
Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 12 Sep. 2025
The precise physics behind ULXs remains one of astronomy's enduring puzzles, and each galaxy that hosts them, including NGC 7456, can provide key clues.
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Its pace is slow — occasionally, but rarely, to its detriment — but this clearly deliberate tempo gives you the chance to shoulder the burdens of its oppressive atmosphere and settle into its many puzzles, which regularly trade logic for personal interpretation, and occasionally just vibes.
—Matt Gardner, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
For example, much of the industry chases bragging rights on public benchmarks, which rank models on tasks like math or logic puzzles.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 9 Sep. 2025
Facing physical puzzles along the way, each episode sees the teams navigate varied landscapes, from narrow city streets to rivers and countryside meadows.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 9 Sep. 2025
Each linguistic slip is a chance for Nabokovian adjectives to bloom, for Lockwood’s poetic puzzles to click into place.
—Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
Players will visit stunning new locations, solve intricate puzzles, battle dangerous cultists, and encounter an epic new enemy in a classically thrilling Indiana Jones adventure.
—Griff Griffin, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
The Fed is dealing with one of its most complicated economic puzzles in decades.
—Bryan Mena, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2025
Noun
Like its predecessors, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book will likely be one of Nintendo’s more accessible games, filled with simple puzzles and exploration that don’t require much precision.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 12 Sep. 2025
The precise physics behind ULXs remains one of astronomy's enduring puzzles, and each galaxy that hosts them, including NGC 7456, can provide key clues.
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Its pace is slow — occasionally, but rarely, to its detriment — but this clearly deliberate tempo gives you the chance to shoulder the burdens of its oppressive atmosphere and settle into its many puzzles, which regularly trade logic for personal interpretation, and occasionally just vibes.
—Matt Gardner, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
For example, much of the industry chases bragging rights on public benchmarks, which rank models on tasks like math or logic puzzles.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 9 Sep. 2025
Facing physical puzzles along the way, each episode sees the teams navigate varied landscapes, from narrow city streets to rivers and countryside meadows.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 9 Sep. 2025
Each linguistic slip is a chance for Nabokovian adjectives to bloom, for Lockwood’s poetic puzzles to click into place.
—Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
Players will visit stunning new locations, solve intricate puzzles, battle dangerous cultists, and encounter an epic new enemy in a classically thrilling Indiana Jones adventure.
—Griff Griffin, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
The Fed is dealing with one of its most complicated economic puzzles in decades.
—Bryan Mena, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for puzzles
Noun
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For nearly five decades, NASA's twin Voyager probes have plumbed the cosmos in search of answers to some of astronomy's most perplexing mysteries about our solar system and its place in the wider universe.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
8 Sep. 2025
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While researchers will continue to study the Galilean moons with Juno, the spacecraft will be joined by others in the coming years, potentially solving even more mysteries in the Jovian system.—
Stefanie Waldek,
Space.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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One case that still baffles is the macabre story of Virginia McCullough, who killed her parents for their money – and then lived with their bodies for four years.—
KC Baker,
People.com,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
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And so an urban tunnel not only blocks some satellites, but confuses the listeners as to which are direct or reflected signals.—
Steve Tengler,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Wedged in the far southeastern corner of the bottom of the continent, between South Africa and Mozambique, Eswatini is the last absolute monarchy in Africa, a status that bewilders modernizers and beguiles traditionalists.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
15 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Puzzles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puzzles. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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