1
as in inexplicable
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2
as in perplexing
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Dissimilar Words
as in baffling
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
it is the cause of the disease that puzzles doctors
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of puzzling
Kansas City Star,
19 May 2026
For devoted Auteuil fans, his lack of an international profile is genuinely puzzling.
—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
14 May 2026
Jeff Fletcher,
Oc Register,
18 May 2026
The Boeing order is especially puzzling as China is rolling out its indigenous C919 passenger aircraft with great fanfare.
—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
15 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for puzzling
Adjective
Lugging one of the least productive offenses in the American League, no doubt the Royals would like to get to that same place about Caglianone — who after a puzzling day off Sunday had two doubles in KC’s 3-1 loss to Boston on Monday at Kauffman Stadium.
—
Kansas City Star,
19 May 2026
For devoted Auteuil fans, his lack of an international profile is genuinely puzzling.
—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
14 May 2026
Verb
Johnson insists that feels fine, so the loss of velocity is puzzling to the Angels.
—
Jeff Fletcher,
Oc Register,
18 May 2026
The Boeing order is especially puzzling as China is rolling out its indigenous C919 passenger aircraft with great fanfare.
—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
15 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for puzzling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for puzzling
Adjective
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The organization said Kirbiyik, who spent 10 years alongside Deniz, had not noticed any signs of illness and was shocked by his sudden and inexplicable death.
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This run of the 101 still has enough hipster plant shops, low-slung thrift spot and inexplicable little storefronts (Child of Wild?
Adjective
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This is what makes recent criticism of Stein’s work with Civic Works so perplexing.
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The sentencing capped an extraordinary investigation that solved one of New York’s most perplexing mysteries.
Verb
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The Illinois numbers, especially this year’s, are baffling experts.
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For more than four minutes Darnold drove downfield, connecting on three of four passes, baffling the pass rushers, bleeding the clock, and by the time the Seahawks finally gave the ball back, the Rams had only 25 seconds to live.
Adjective
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Translation is a very mysterious thing because my goal is to create something that’s deeply equivalent but uses zero of the same words.
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That is until their husbands are killed under mysterious circumstances in the USSR, and the pair become CIA operatives.
Adjective
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Grief is one of the most confounding aspects of the human experience.
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In 2021, one year into D’Amaro’s tenure and following COVID shutdowns, Disney did away with FastPass and introduced a confounding and very costly series of pay-to-skip passes, which require timing advanced booking of limited slots in these formerly free-to-enter shorter lines.
Verb
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Similarly, the defensively bewildering 9-6 loss the Wild suffered to start Round 2 in Colorado set the tone for five games that would ultimately be their undoing.
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But even more than engaging the big ideas that Emma’s revelation triggers — pun somewhat intended — Lee and Borli wanted to craft an experience that would mimic its main characters’ bewildering interiority.
Adjective
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To make a lunge like that, with his studs up, seemed incomprehensible, never mind dangerous.
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That principle has crumbled so far in the face of Wembanyama’s combination of incomprehensible on-court abilities, youthful enthusiasm and cosmopolitan-unto-eccentric savoir faire.
Adjective
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When Aaron Paul’s Jeff attempts to make a suspicious deposit, the bank teller (a game Nina Dobrev) demands to be in on the deal, in the sort of neo-noir twist that could suggest a rich film world populated with bizarre freaks of all stripes.
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In the canon of DC Comics, Comet is truly a bizarre character.
Cite this Entry
“Puzzling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puzzling. Accessed 30 Jun. 2026.
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