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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

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 LeetCode is a training platform for the kind of algorithmic riddles that usually crop up in interviews for big tech companies. — Sam Kriss, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026 The resulting footage was only discovered by the Cinémathèque in 2023; now edited together into a cohesive work, this invaluable and sui generis artifact finds one master filmmaker engaging with and taking in thewisdom, riddles, and pronouncements of another. — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 20 Jan. 2026 Neighbors put their own spin on the game, dressing up Frank in accessories, and posting riddles and clues to their local Facebook group to give hints on Frank's whereabouts. — CBS News, 21 Dec. 2025

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

Known as Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, or KHI, the swirling patterns could explain enduring solar mysteries, such as why the sun’s corona, or outer atmosphere, is much hotter than its surface.

— Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 5 Aug. 2026
That's the age of the lead character of Lee's seventh novel; Jeon-Gi is a fumbling initiate into the bewildering mysteries of preadolescence.

— Colin Dwyer, NPR, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of mysteries

Verb

These plays are happening during individual coverage and limited-contact team drills.

— Mike Kaye August 5, Charlotte Observer, 5 Aug. 2026
Allen’s recent emergence had fans wondering Saturday why Allen was working special teams drills at all, given his potential impact at receiver this season.

— Jesse Newell, New York Times, 1 Aug. 2026

Definition of drills

Verb

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
Announcing its hardcore aspirations with a moody steel-blue palette that suffuses the rural setting with dread, the film takes place almost entirely on a remote cow farm, the home of a mixed-race family of three.

— Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 22 May 2026

Definition of suffuses

Noun

Take along complete puzzles in good condition to trade for something new from the collection.

— Eric E. Harrison, Arkansas Online, 29 July 2026
There are also plenty of games and activities for sale in the hotel store, including watercolor kits, colorful punch balloons, activity books, knitting kits, pick-up sticks, puzzles, toys, and more.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 July 2026

Definition of puzzles

Verb

Upgrade a Laundry Room Vent holes in a laundry room might call to mind a traditional airing cupboard, but perhaps counterintuitively, that term actually refers to a heated cupboard for keeping towels dry rather than one in which air freely circulates.

— Monika Biegler Eyers, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 June 2026
Caulk holes around plumbing and sewer lines where roaches are likely to enter.

— Arricca Elin SanSone, Southern Living, 4 June 2026

Definition of holes

Verb

Make sure water penetrates to the deep roots in addition to wetting surface roots.

— Nan Sterman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Aug. 2026
Near-infrared light (around 830 nm) penetrates even deeper, affecting fibroblasts, circulation, and tissue repair, and is frequently paired with red light for greater benefits than either alone.

— Pooja Mistry, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026

Definition of penetrates

Noun

In 2024, now grown and with her adoptive father’s approval, the young woman sets off with a wealthy merchant to piece together the historical enigmas surrounding the ancient Sumpa kingdom.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 20 June 2026
Bob Gray is one of the big enigmas in the book that are intentionally put there to create tension and are never solved.

— Scott Huver, Deadline, 26 Apr. 2026