Synonyms for puzzling
- adjective
Most common
All synonyms
Adjective
1. Perplexing — difficult to understand or explain; enigmatic or confusing; perplexing
perplexing, enigmatic, confusing, bewildering, inexplicable, hard, incomprehensible, obscure, problematical, intricate, knotty, enigmatical, baffling, mystifying, quisquous rare UK
Other
Definitions
- adj. 1
Difficult to understand or explain; enigmatic or confusing; perplexing.
Example sentences
- confusing David is confusing Amanda's dad with someone else.
- enigmatic She's a strange, enigmatic and inspiring poet.
- perplexing Sami asked Layla a perplexing question.
- bewildering Tom found the sheer size of the city bewildering at first.
- paradoxical Many paradoxes are paradoxical only because they sound strange.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| puzzling | steady | |
| confusing | rising | |
| enigmatic | rising | |
| perplexing | steady | |
| bewildering | steady | |
| paradoxical | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- hard1
- 6 letters
- knotty2
- 7 letters
- obscure2
- 8 letters
- baffling3
- 9 letters
- confusing3, intricate3, enigmatic4, quisquous
- 10 letters
- perplexing3, mystifying4
- 11 letters
- paradoxical5, bewildering4, enigmatical
- 12 letters
- inexplicable5
- 13 letters
- problematical5
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (knotty2 = 2 syllables).