RIDDLES Synonyms: 69 Similar and Opposite Words

riddles 1 of 2

noun

plural of riddle

as in mysteries

something hard to understand or explain his motives for starting an argument with the coach were a complete riddle

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riddles

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of riddle

as in drills

to make a hole or series of holes in several signs along the highway were riddled by buckshot

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in suffuses

to spread throughout the newspaper exposé revealed a gaming commission that is riddled with corruption

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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 riddles

Noun

The bond between Anthony Fauci and Larry Kramer is one of history’s happy riddles. — Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026 Perhaps the three questions are not riddles to be solved once and closed. — Regan Peng, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2026 Whether the brand promise of independence survives a business model built on agent territory sales is one of the next riddles for the housing market to solve. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 8 Aug. 2026 This Father's Day, break out these silly (and slightly cringe-y) one-liners, puns, riddles, and jokes. — Jamie Fischer, Parents, 20 June 2026 The machine’s repertoire included answers to 12 riddles, passages from books, and laughing, crying and kissing sounds, as well as arias sung in both male and female voices—all feats that Edison’s phonograph would one day be able to accomplish by recording and playing back the human voice. — Ron Cowen, Scientific American, 3 June 2026 The New Zealand singer-songwriter wanders around inside her psychedelic folk arrangements, singing in private riddles and changing the tone of her voice from one song (or even one verse) to the next, seemingly oblivious or indifferent to your presence. — Jayson Greene, Pitchfork, 8 May 2026 How imagination works, how influence unfolds, how history rhymes — these remain riddles. — New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026 For now, Anteotokounmpo, 31, remains coy, his words wrapped in riddles and his intentions couched in caveats, even as ESPN continues to report that a trade (somewhere) is viewed as inevitable and even as the two-time MVP insists that a trade is not his decision. — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 20 Apr. 2026

Verb

Along the Atlantic coast of Europe a cancer riddles the golden carpet shell clam, Polititapes aureus, yet genotyping showed its cells are not that clam’s at all. — John Drake, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026 Blyth was nominated in the supporting role as Mildred's spoiled daughter, Veda, who seduces her mother's second husband (Zachary Scott), then riddles him with bullets in a jealous rage. — ABC News, 26 June 2026 Any trip to the dark night skies of our Southern California deserts reveals a vista full of wonder and mystery — riddles that astrophysicists like myself spend our days unraveling. — Steven R. Furlanetto, Twin Cities, 17 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for riddles

Noun

There are more mysteries to unfurl in future episodes of Pet Cemetery Murders, starting with the isolated Grey Gardens–esque dynamic between Dorothy and her own mother, Grace, who opened the pet cemetery in 1946.

— Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 12 Oct. 2026
As Halzen and countless other scientists have found over the years, Antarctica’s extreme conditions serve as a crucial gateway to understanding some of the greatest mysteries of the cosmos.

— Daniella McCahey, The Conversation, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of mysteries

Verb

Ramiro Benavides, director of a middle school mariachi in the district, drills his students not only on how to play their instruments and sing, but also on how to bring a theatrical and dramatic flair to their performances.

— Jessica Hill, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
Dewan is also filming The Rookie, so things are getting challenging as Val drills her on the technique — even on set between takes.

— Katie Campione, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of drills

Verb

Nacer is quite good at variations of patriarchal obliviousness, and Pebdani suffuses her women with streaks of guilt.

— Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2026
But the latter’s crisply executed harmonies are but one of multiple examples of what splendid singing suffuses this production.

— Rob Hubbard, Twin Cities, 23 May 2026

Definition of suffuses

Noun

These novels are puzzles at their core, and using logic to solve the mystery before it’s revealed in the book is, to me, the main pleasure in reading them.

— New York Times, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026
The next two puzzles seem, on the surface, to have nothing to do with the first two.

— Dana Mackenzie, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of puzzles

Verb

Leather Honey penetrates deep to protect new leather and rejuvenate dry leather and old leather.

— ABC News, ABC News, 7 Sep. 2026
The latter, on the other hand, has a smaller molecular makeup that penetrates deeper into the skin and provides longer lasting moisture retention.

— Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of penetrates

Noun

PBHs could help resolve other enigmas, too, for instance by acting as seeds for the rapid growth of supermassive black holes in the early universe.

— Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American, 2 Oct. 2026
Its findings could also unlock clues about dark energy and dark matter, and some of the universe’s biggest enigmas.

— Denise Chow, NBC news, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of enigmas

Verb

Christmas tree pins have a tiered configuration that compresses rather than pierces the ground (a win for modern synthetic or Mondo tracks).

— Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 10 Sep. 2026
An ice sculpture of a heart includes a tube through the ice arrow that pierces the heart.

— Peter Larsen, Oc Register, 10 July 2026