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puzzle - 20 thesaurus results
| Main Entry: | puzzle |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | baffle, confuse |
| Synonyms: | amaze, bamboozle*, beat, befuddle, bemuse, bewilder, complicate, confound, disconcert, distract, disturb, dumbfound, flabbergast, floor*, flummox, foil, frustrate, mystify, nonplus, obscure, perplex, pose, put off, rattle, snow*, stir, stumble, stump, throw, addle, befog, buffalo, discombobulate, get to*, profundicate, psych out |
| Antonyms: | clarify, elucidate, explain, illustrate, unravel |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | puzzle |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | wonder about |
| Synonyms: | ask oneself, brood, cudgel, marvel, mull over, muse, ponder, rack one's brains, study, think about, think hard |
| Antonyms: | not care |
| Main Entry: | ambiguity |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | uncertainty of meaning |
| Synonyms: | anagram, doubt, dubiety, enigma, equivocation, incertitude, obscurity, puzzle, uncertainty, vagueness, double meaning, double-entendre, doubtfulness, dubiousness, equivocacy, equivocality, inconclusiveness, indefiniteness, indeterminateness, polysemousness, polysemy, tergiversation, unclearness |
| Antonyms: | certainty, clarity, clearness, lucidity, definiteness, explicitness |
| Main Entry: | bamboozle |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | fool; cheat |
| Synonyms: | baffle, befuddle, bilk, con, confound, confuse, deceive, defraud, delude, dupe, flimflam*, hoax, hoodwink*, hornswoggle*, mystify, perplex, puzzle, stump, swindle, trick |
| Antonyms: | be honest |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | befuddle |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | confuse |
| Synonyms: | baffle, bewilder, bother, daze, distract, dumbfound, fluster, inebriate, mix up, muddle, puzzle, shake, stupefy, throw off*, addle, ball up, disorient, intoxicate, make punchy |
| Antonyms: | clear up, explain |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | bemuse |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | confuse |
| Synonyms: | amaze, bewilder, daydream, daze, moon, muddle, overwhelm, paralyze, perplex, pipe dream*, puzzle, stun, stupefy, addle, gather wool |
| Notes: | the first meaning of amuse was 'to divert the attention of in order to mislead,' 'delude, deceive' and now means 'entertain, make smile or laugh'; bemuse means 'confuse, bewilder, puzzle' |
| Antonyms: | clear up, enlighten, explain, illuminate, tell |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | bewilder |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | confuse |
| Synonyms: | addle, baffle, ball up, befuddle, bemuse, confound, daze, disconcert, distract, floor*, fluster, mess with one's head, mix up, muddle, mystify, perplex, puzzle, rattle, snow*, stump, stupefy, throw, upset |
| Antonyms: | clear up, explain, orient |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | competition |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | contest |
| Synonyms: | antagonism, bout, candidacy, championship, clash, contention, controversy, encounter, engagement, event, fight, game, go for it, jungle*, match, meeting, opposition, puzzle, quiz, race, racing, rat race*, rivalry, run, sport, strife, striving, struggle, tilt, tournament, trial, warfare, athletic event, concours, counteraction, do or die, dog eat dog, emulation, go for the gold, horse race, matchup, one on one, one-upping, pairing off, tug-of-war |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | confound |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | confuse |
| Synonyms: | abash, amaze, astonish, astound, baffle, bewilder, blend, bug*, commingle, confute, discomfit, discountenance, dumbfound, embarrass, faze, fiddle, flabbergast, jumble, mix, mix up*, mystify, nonplus, perplex, pose, puzzle, rattle, screw up*, startle, surprise, throw*, befog, discombobulate, metagrobolize, misidentify |
| Antonyms: | clarify, clear up, enlighten, explain, relate, make clear |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | crisis |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | critical situation |
| Synonyms: | catastrophe, change, climax, confrontation, contingency, corner, crossroad, crunch*, crux, culmination, deadlock, dilemma, dire straits, disaster, embarrassment, emergency, entanglement, exigency, extremity, height, imbroglio, impasse, juncture, mess, moment of truth*, necessity, pass, pickle*, pinch*, plight, point of no return*, predicament, pressure, puzzle, quandary, situation, stew, strait, trauma, trial, trouble, turning point, urgency, big trouble, climacteric, hot potato, hour of decision, perplexity |
| Antonyms: | calm, peace |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | daze |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | confuse, shock |
| Synonyms: | amaze, astonish, astound, befuddle, benumb, bewilder, blind, blur, confound, dazzle, disorder, distract, dizzy, dumbfound, flabbergast, mix up, muddle, mystify, numb, overpower, overwhelm, paralyze, perplex, petrify, puzzle, rock, stagger, startle, stun, stupefy, surprise, addle, befog, fuddle |
| Antonyms: | expect |
| Main Entry: | dilemma |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | crisis |
| Synonyms: | Catch-22*, bind*, box*, corner, difficulty, embarrassment, fix, hole, hooker*, impasse, jam, mess, mire, pickle*, plight, predicament, problem, puzzle, quandary, scrape, spot, strait, double bind, perplexity, tight corner |
| Antonyms: | miracle, solution, wonder |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | disconcert |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | shake up; confuse |
| Synonyms: | abash, agitate, baffle, balk, bewilder, bug, confound, demoralize, disarrange, discomfit, discompose, discountenance, disturb, embarrass, faze, fluster, foul up, frustrate, hinder, nonplus, perplex, perturb, put off, puzzle, rattle, ruffle, trouble, unbalance, undo, unsettle, upset, worry, discombobulate, get to, psych out, take aback, throw off balance, upset apple cart |
| Antonyms: | calm, comfort, soothe |
| Main Entry: | dismay |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | disappoint, fill with consternation |
| Synonyms: | abash, affright, agitate, alarm, appall, bewilder, bother, chill, confound, daunt, discomfit, discompose, disconcert, discourage, dishearten, disillusion, disquiet, distress, disturb, dumbfound, embarrass, faze, flummox*, fluster, foul up*, frighten, horrify, mess up*, mystify, nonplus, paralyze, perplex, put off, puzzle, rattle, scare, screw up*, shake, snafu*, terrify, terrorize, throw, unhinge*, unnerve, upset, dispirit, get to, louse up, muck up*, take aback, throw into a tizzy |
| Antonyms: | assure, encourage, make happy |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | distract |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | divert attention; confuse |
| Synonyms: | abstract, agitate, amuse, befuddle, beguile, bewilder, confound, derange, detract, discompose, disconcert, disturb, divert, engross, entertain, fluster, frenzy, harass, madden, mislead, mix up, occupy, perplex, puzzle, sidetrack, stall, throw off*, torment, trouble, unbalance, unhinge*, addle, call away, catch flies, draw away, lead astray, lead away, turn aside |
| Antonyms: | clarify, explain |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | dumbfound |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | astound, confuse |
| Synonyms: | amaze, astonish, bewilder, blow away, blow one's mind, boggle, bowl over*, confound, flabbergast, knock over with feather, nonplus, overwhelm, puzzle, stagger, startle, stun, surprise, take aback, throw, throw into a tizzy |
| Antonyms: | clear up, explain, explicate, lay out |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | elude |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | avoid; escape |
| Synonyms: | baffle, bilk, circumvent, confound, cop out*, ditch, dodge, double, duck, eschew, evade, flee, fly, foil, frustrate, hem and haw*, outrun, outwit, pass the buck*, puzzle, shirk, shuck, shun, shy, stall, stonewall*, stump, thwart, be beyond someone, beat around the bush, get around, get away from, give the runaround, give the slip, give wide berth to, not touch, pass up, run around, stay shy of, steer clear of |
| Antonyms: | attract, confront, encounter, entice, face, invite, meet, take on |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | embarrass |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | cause mental discomfort |
| Synonyms: | abash, agitate, annoy, bewilder, bother, bug, chagrin, confuse, discomfit, discompose, disconcert, discountenance, distract, distress, disturb, dumbfound, faze, fluster, irk, let down*, mortify, nonplus, perplex, perturb, plague, puzzle, rattle, shame, show up*, stun, tease, throw, upset, catch one short, discombobulate, give a bad time, give a hard time, hang up*, make a monkey of, put in a hole, put in a spot, put on the spot, put out of countenance, throw into a tizzy |
| Antonyms: | comfort, gladden, help, please |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | embarrassment |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | humiliation, shame |
| Synonyms: | awkwardness, bashfulness, bind, boo boo*, chagrin, clumsiness, complexity, confusion, destitution, difficulty, dilemma, discomfiture, distress, faux pas, fix, hitch, hot seat*, hot water, indebtedness, indiscretion, inhibition, mess, mistake, mortification, pickle*, pinch, plight, poverty, predicament, puzzle, quandary, scrape, shyness, snag, stew, strait, tangle, timidity, uneasiness, awkward situation, discomposure, disconcertion, egg on face, impecuniosity, self-consciousness, unease |
| Antonyms: | comfort, confidence |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | enigma |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | mystery |
| Synonyms: | bewilderment, cliffhanger, conundrum, crux, cryptogram, knot*, parable, problem, puzzle, question, riddle, secret, stickler, twister, why*, Gordian knot, grabber, mind-boggler, mind-twister, mystification, perplexity, puzzlement, puzzler, question mark, sixty-four dollar question, sphinx, sticker, stumper, teaser, tough nut to crack |
* = informal/non-formal usage
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2009 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2009 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.

