puz·zle

(pzl) v. puz·zled, puz·zling, puz·zles v.tr. 1. To baffle or confuse mentally by presenting or being a difficult problem or matter. 2. To clarify or solve (something confusing) by reasoning or study: He puzzled out the significance of the statement. v.intr. 1. To be perplexed. 2. To ponder over a problem in an effort to solve or understand it. n. 1. Something, such as a game, toy, or problem, that requires ingenuity and often persistence in solving or assembling. 2. Something that baffles or confuses. 3. The condition of being perplexed; bewilderment. [Origin unknown.] puzzler n. Synonyms: puzzle, perplex, mystify, bewilder, confound These verbs mean to cause bafflement or confusion. Puzzle suggests difficulty in solving or interpreting something: "The poor creature puzzled me once . . . by a question merely natural and innocent" (Daniel Defoe). Perplex stresses uncertainty or anxiety, as over reaching an understanding or finding a solution: a dilemma that perplexed the committee. Mystify implies defying comprehension by obscuring facts: symbolism that mystifies me. Bewilder emphasizes extreme mental confusion: "The old know what they want; the young are sad and bewildered" (Logan Pearsall Smith). To confound is to confuse and astonish: God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise (I Corinthians 1:27).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.