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
Matt Donnelly, Variety, 26 Sep. 2025
This is a group of materials known for both their huge potential and their puzzling nature.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 25 Sep. 2025
Dan Albano, Oc Register, 22 Oct. 2025
The mystery is less about who’s involved in the game afoot, as alert audiences piecing together context clues will be immediately aware of those nefarious parties upon their introductions, and is more about the puzzling lengths the filmmakers go to in planting contrived red herrings.
—Courtney Howard, Variety, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for puzzling
Adjective
Fan interactions are inevitable for a star like Leonardo DiCaprio, the former heartthrob turned permanent Hollywood A-lister, but some are more puzzling than others.
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 26 Sep. 2025
This is a group of materials known for both their huge potential and their puzzling nature.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 25 Sep. 2025
Verb
There was, however, one puzzling factor.
—Dan Albano, Oc Register, 22 Oct. 2025
The mystery is less about who’s involved in the game afoot, as alert audiences piecing together context clues will be immediately aware of those nefarious parties upon their introductions, and is more about the puzzling lengths the filmmakers go to in planting contrived red herrings.
—Courtney Howard, Variety, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for puzzling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for puzzling
Adjective
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Usually there is a predictable pattern to the flow of money bet on games around the world, and the people who spend all day monitoring the betting markets develop a feel for when that flow is doing something inexplicable.—
David Hill,
Rolling Stone,
31 Oct. 2025
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Her initially inexplicable obsession sets the tone for Apple TV’s unusually humane conspiracy thriller.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Played for comic relief, he is baffled by this son of his who attends college and, more perplexing yet, is suddenly obsessed with Italy and cycling.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Nov. 2025
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The sheriff’s office was called, and initially the deaths were deemed suspicious, though the situation seemed more perplexing than criminal.—
Joy Williams,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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One morning, members of the Fort Greely missile defense base spot an ICBM of unknown origin on a suborbital trajectory heading straight for Chicago, baffling the country’s top intelligence and defense teams who only have 18 minutes to respond before impact.—
Jake Kring-Schreifels,
Time,
27 Oct. 2025
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But there were strengths here, too, none more than England’s impervious Lazarus complex, that baffling inability to know when one is in a state of emergency.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
26 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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As if dark energy weren't already mysterious and baffling enough, new research suggests that this unknown force may not be driving galaxies apart at an accelerating rate anymore.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
6 Nov. 2025
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The goddess planet knows the art of seduction, but when transiting Scorpio, her sweetness is equally seductive and mysterious.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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What is the most confounding and terrible, however, is Gretchen’s assertion that Slade, the anti-Viagra, doesn’t get involved with the women on his own accord, but only engages because the women always talk about him.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
10 Oct. 2025
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The offense’s struggles are the most confounding.—
Zach Berman,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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And aren’t our real-life romantic complications bewildering enough?—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
4 Sep. 2025
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Its ginormous investments in higher-value, tech-heavy sectors from smartphones to autos to semiconductors to biotechnology are disrupting the global landscape at bewildering speed.—
William Pesek,
Forbes.com,
27 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The wealth at the top is incomprehensible — orders of magnitude beyond the numbers most of us glean from our own bank statements.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
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Elder millennial parents who may have trouble understanding what their kids are talking about will likely laugh along to how the comedians portray teens’ reliance on seemingly incomprehensible slang terms to communicate with each other.—
Stephanie Ganz,
Parents,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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As travelers crave experiences over ordinary stays, hotels that have transformed grim to glam are now embracing their bizarre and sometimes haunted histories, even hosting weddings and wellness retreats.—
Deirdre Bardolf,
FOXNews.com,
25 Oct. 2025
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But things take a bizarre turn when her son, Simón (Roger Príncep), goes missing.—
Steven Thrash,
Entertainment Weekly,
25 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Puzzling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puzzling. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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