puzzle
/ˈpʌzəl/ noun, verb
Forms puzzles puzzling puzzled puzzlest puzzledst puzzleth
- noun (uncountable) The state of feeling confused or mystified because one cannot understand a complicated matter, a problem, etc.; bewilderment, confusion; (countable) often in in a puzzle: an instance of this.
- noun (countable) A thing such as a complicated matter or a problem which is difficult to make sense of or understand; also, a person who is difficult to make sense of or understand; an enigma. “Where he went after he left the house is a puzzle.”
- noun (countable) Often preceded by a descriptive word: a game or toy, or a problem, requiring some effort to complete or work out, which is intended as a pastime and/or to test one's mental ability. “crossword puzzle jigsaw puzzle”
- verb (also reflexive, often passive voice) To cause (oneself or someone, or their mind, etc.) to feel confused or mystified because they cannot understand a complicated matter, a problem, etc.; to confuse, to mystify, to perplex.
- verb To use (one's brain or mind) to try to work out a complicated matter, a problem, etc.; also, to try to work out (a complicated matter, a problem, etc.).
- verb To (intentionally) make (something) complicated or confused, and so difficult to resolve or understand; to confuse, to complicate.
- verb (chiefly passive voice) To cause (someone) to not know what to do due to some problem, situation, etc.; to bewilder, to confound, to perplex.
- verb Often followed by about, over, or upon: to feel confused or mystified because one cannot understand a complicated matter, a problem, etc.
- verb Often followed by about, over, or or upon: to think deeply in bewilderment to try to work out a complicated matter, a problem, etc. “We puzzled over the curious-shaped lock, but were unable to discover how the key should be inserted.”
- verb To search in a confused or mystified manner.
- verb Followed by through: to solve a complicated matter, a problem, etc., by working through confusing or difficult matters.
Synonyms
bafflement perplexity anybody's guess anyone's guess conundrum mystery crux brainteaser poser empuzzle addle baffle vex lose embroil stick stump baffound bamboozle bedevil puzzler mystifier teaser perplex get mystify beat pose bewilder flummox
Etymology
The verb, of uncertain origin, is attested first. Apparently cognate with Scots pousle, pouzle, poozle (“to trifle; poke or potter around aimlessly; search about with uncertainty”), Saterland Frisian puzelje (“to work hard and continuously”), West Frisian peuzelje (“to trifle, work slowly; eat slowly and daintifully, snack”), Dutch peuzelen (“to perform insignificant work, dawdle; pick at, eat with relish in small pieces, snack”), German Low German pusseln (“to tinker, fiddle; trifle”) and pöseln (“to work hard, toil; to slave away; suffer at work; work slowly and ineffectively”), German posseln, bosseln (“to perform trivial work, tinker”), Danish pusle (“to busy oneself with light work or chores; to be occupied with a task requiring ingenuity, care, and patience; to tinker”), Swedish pyssla (“to do light work; tinker; putter or potter around”), Norwegian Nynorsk pusla, putla (“to potter about”), Faroese putla (“to trifle; potter about; do one's work slowly; be dilatory”), Faroese puss (“damage, trick”).
* An early form of the word is pusle, which is similar to Old English puslian (“to pick out the best bits, carefully select, cull”). It is possible that the meaning of the word evolved from “to pick out the best bits”, to “to think long and carefully in bewilderment while choosing what to pick out”, to “to think long and carefully in bewilderment”. However, there is no evidence in Middle English or modern English of any intermediate words with these meanings.
* Alternatively, it has been suggested that the word is from pose (“(obsolete) to interrogate, question”) + -le (frequentative suffix). However, the Oxford English Dictionary notes that early forms of the word are all spelled with -u-, and that a sound change in Middle English from ō to u “is not easily accounted for”.
* Finally, it has been suggested that the past participle form of the word is attested by Middle English poselet. This is thought to be unlikely by the Oxford English Dictionary as poselet is attested in only one quotation with the meaning “jostled, pushed”, which does not have any connection with the current senses of the word.
The noun appears to be derived from the verb.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Something which perplexes or embarrasses; especially, a toy or a problem contrived for testing ingenuity; also, something exhibiting marvelous skill in making.
- noun The state of being puzzled; perplexity; as, to be in a puzzle.
- verb To perplex; to confuse; to embarrass; to put to a stand; to nonplus.
- verb To make intricate; to entangle.
Etymology [For opposal, in the sense of problem. See Oppose, Pose, v.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “puzzle”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details