puzzling

puzzling
    adj 1: not clear to the understanding; "I didn't grasp the
           meaning of that enigmatic comment until much later";
           "prophetic texts so enigmatic that their meaning has been
           disputed for centuries" [syn: {enigmatic}, {enigmatical},
           {puzzling}]
    2: lacking clarity of meaning; causing confusion or perplexity;
       "sent confusing signals to Iraq"; "perplexing to someone who
       knew nothing about it"; "a puzzling statement" [syn:
       {confusing}, {perplexing}, {puzzling}]
    

puzzle \puz"zle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {puzzled} (p[u^]z"z'ld);
   p. pr. & vb. n. {puzzling} (p[u^]z"zl[i^]ng).]
   1. To perplex; to confuse; to embarrass; to put to a stand;
      to nonplus.
      [1913 Webster]

            A very shrewd disputant in those points is dexterous
            in puzzling others.                   --Dr. H. More.
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            He is perpetually puzzled and perplexed amidst his
            own blunders.                         --Addison.
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   2. To make intricate; to entangle.
      [1913 Webster]

            They disentangle from the puzzled skein. --Cowper.
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            The ways of Heaven are dark and intricate,
            Puzzled in mazes, and perplexed with error.
                                                  --Addison.
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   3. To solve by ingenuity, as a puzzle; -- followed by out;
      as, to puzzle out a mystery.
      [1913 Webster]

   Syn: To embarrass; perplex; confuse; bewilder; confound. See
        {Embarrass}.
        [1913 Webster]
    

83 Moby Thesaurus words for "puzzling":
      able, abstruse, ambiguous, baffling, beguiling, bewildering,
      bothering, confounding, confusing, contradictory, cryptic,
      discomposing, disconcerting, dismaying, distracting, disturbing,
      embarrassing, enigmatic, enigmatical, exceptional, extraordinary,
      fabulous, fantastic, fascinating, incalculable, incognizable,
      incomprehensible, inconceivable, incredible, intricate, marvelous,
      miraculous, mysterious, mystifying, outlandish, passing strange,
      perplexing, perturbing, phenomenal, problematic, prodigious, rare,
      remarkable, riddling, sealed, sensational, sphinxlike, strange,
      striking, stupendous, unapparent, unapprehended, unascertained,
      unbeknown, uncharted, unclassified, undisclosed, undiscoverable,
      undiscovered, undivulged, unexplained, unexplored, unexposed,
      unfamiliar, unfathomed, unheard, unheard-of, unidentified,
      unimaginable, uninvestigated, unique, unknowable, unknown,
      unperceived, unplumbed, unprecedented, unrevealed, unsuspected,
      untouched, upsetting, virgin, wonderful, wondrous