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maze

noun

Simple meaning

A labyrinth; a puzzle consisting of a complicated network of paths or passages, the aim of which is to find one's way through.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

mayz
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈmeɪz

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A labyrinth; a puzzle consisting of a complicated network of paths or passages, the aim of which is to find one's way through.

  2. Something made up of many confused or conflicting elements; a tangle.

  3. Something jumbled or confused

  4. A former prison in Northern Ireland; in full, HM Prison Maze.

  5. A townland in County Down, Northern Ireland, the site of the former prison (Irish grid ref J 2261).

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A labyrinth; a puzzle consisting of a complicated network of paths or passages, the aim of which is to find one's way through.

Used this way, maze is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Confusing or complicated
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use maze

  • “The kids had a blast trying to find their way out of the corn maze.”noun

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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: labyrinth

labyrinth

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.