Puzzling

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  puzzle \puz"zle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {puzzled} (p[u^]z"z'ld);
     p. pr. & vb. n. {puzzling} (p[u^]z"zl[i^]ng).]
     1. To perplex; to confuse; to embarrass; to put to a stand;
        to nonplus.
        [1913 Webster]
  


              A very shrewd disputant in those points is dexterous
              in puzzling others.                   --Dr. H. More.
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              He is perpetually puzzled and perplexed amidst his
              own blunders.                         --Addison.
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     2. To make intricate; to entangle.
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              They disentangle from the puzzled skein. --Cowper.
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              The ways of Heaven are dark and intricate,
              Puzzled in mazes, and perplexed with error.
                                                    --Addison.
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     3. To solve by ingenuity, as a puzzle; -- followed by out;
        as, to puzzle out a mystery.
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     Syn: To embarrass; perplex; confuse; bewilder; confound. See
          {Embarrass}.
          [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  puzzling
       adj 1: not clear to the understanding; "I didn't grasp the meaning
              of that enigmatic comment until much later";
              "prophetic texts so enigmatic that their meaning has
              been disputed for centuries" [syn: {enigmatic}, {enigmatical}]
       2: lacking clarity of meaning; causing confusion or perplexity;
          "sent confusing signals to Iraq"; "perplexing to someone
          who knew nothing about it"; "a puzzling statement" [syn: {confusing},
           {perplexing}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  83 Moby Thesaurus words for "puzzling":
     able, abstruse, ambiguous, baffling, beguiling, bewildering,
     bothering, confounding, confusing, contradictory, cryptic,
     discomposing, disconcerting, dismaying, distracting, disturbing,
     embarrassing, enigmatic, enigmatical, exceptional, extraordinary,
     fabulous, fantastic, fascinating, incalculable, incognizable,
     incomprehensible, inconceivable, incredible, intricate, marvelous,
     miraculous, mysterious, mystifying, outlandish, passing strange,
     perplexing, perturbing, phenomenal, problematic, prodigious, rare,
     remarkable, riddling, sealed, sensational, sphinxlike, strange,
     striking, stupendous, unapparent, unapprehended, unascertained,
     unbeknown, uncharted, unclassified, undisclosed, undiscoverable,
     undiscovered, undivulged, unexplained, unexplored, unexposed,
     unfamiliar, unfathomed, unheard, unheard-of, unidentified,
     unimaginable, uninvestigated, unique, unknowable, unknown,
     unperceived, unplumbed, unprecedented, unrevealed, unsuspected,
     untouched, upsetting, virgin, wonderful, wondrous