puzzling
verb
Form of puzzle , present participle of puzzle.
Simple meaning
To cause to feel confused or mystified because they cannot understand a complicated matter.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
puhzuhlingSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpʌzəlɪŋ
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.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
present participle of puzzlealso reflexiveoften 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.
present participle of puzzle
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.).
present participle of puzzle
Often followed by about, over, or upon: to feel confused or mystified because one cannot understand a complicated matter, a problem, etc.
present participle of puzzle
Be uncertain about; think about without fully understanding or being able to decide
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (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.
Used this way, puzzling 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.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Be a mystery or bewildering to.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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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.