1
as in inexplicable
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
2
as in perplexing
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
as in baffling
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 puzzling
Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE, 20 Apr. 2026
Everyone already knows about the Red Sox’s struggles, especially at the plate, but the Mariners and Tigers’ early slumps have been equally puzzling.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 12 Apr. 2026
Matt Gelb, New York Times, 1 May 2026
Over the course of six months, black lesions and deep ulcers formed over the body of a 78-year-old man, puzzling doctors.
—Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 1 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for puzzling
Adjective
However, the Echoes From the Past creators made the puzzling and terrifying artistic choice to have VR visitors ride outside the sub during the descent.
—Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE, 20 Apr. 2026
Everyone already knows about the Red Sox’s struggles, especially at the plate, but the Mariners and Tigers’ early slumps have been equally puzzling.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 12 Apr. 2026
Verb
Alvarado, however, continued a puzzling trend.
—Matt Gelb, New York Times, 1 May 2026
Over the course of six months, black lesions and deep ulcers formed over the body of a 78-year-old man, puzzling doctors.
—Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 1 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for puzzling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for puzzling
Adjective
-
One turnaround midrange jumper from Howard caught nothing but backboard and was borderline inexplicable.—
Brian Hamilton,
New York Times,
5 June 2026
-
Her inexplicable refusal to ever participate in analysis despite her admiration of Jung sets her apart, as does her independent leadership of Eranos.—
Eliza Goodpasture,
ARTnews.com,
3 June 2026
Adjective
-
The famed Altar Stone is far more perplexing, however.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
4 June 2026
-
On June 3, Mercury in Cancer will square off with Neptune in Aries, creating a perplexing atmosphere where emotions, assumptions and mixed signals can easily distort the truth.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
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.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2026
-
Though some of the recent playoff defeats have been baffling and call for self-evaluation within the organization, the culture has been a huge net positive overall.—
Jay King,
New York Times,
1 June 2026
Adjective
-
Exciting discoveries await with the opening of various mysterious pristine boxes.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
-
The film stars Alan Ritchson, who is likely to return for the sequel, and follows the final recruits of a grueling Special Ops boot camp who encounter a mysterious deadly force.—
Justin Kroll,
Deadline,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
Grief is one of the most confounding aspects of the human experience.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
17 Apr. 2026
-
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.—
Rebecca Alter,
Vulture,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
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.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
6 Apr. 2026
-
There aren’t many ways to earn a club’s first win better than bewildering the league’s defending champions at their place.—
Braidon Nourse,
Denver Post,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Europeans, Bennett notes, find this genuinely incomprehensible.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
11 May 2026
-
Ashly's death is an incomprehensible tragedy.—
Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
6 May 2026
Adjective
-
Then, to make the situation more bizarre, Arnaldi and Cobolli held a press conference together in the same room despite the former being sick and the latter being two days away from playing in a Grand Slam final.—
Lev Akabas,
Sportico.com,
7 June 2026
-
The astronauts reported bizarre smells, and had issues flushing urine outside the spacecraft as designed.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
6 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Puzzling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puzzling. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
