1. Confuse or leave at a loss because of something complex or difficult to understand
   "These questions puzzle even the experts";
   - confuse, throw, fox, befuddle, fuddle, bedevil, confound, discombobulate [informal], perplex, vex, stick, get, mystify, baffle, beat, pose, bewilder, flummox, stupefy, nonplus, gravel, dumbfound
    
2. Be uncertain about; think about without fully understanding or being able to decide
   "We puzzled over her sudden departure"

1. A game that tests your ingenuity
   "The children spent hours trying to solve the jigsaw puzzle"
    
2. A particularly baffling problem that is said to have a correct solution
   "he loved to solve checkmate puzzles"; "The crossword puzzle was quite the riddler, stumping even experienced solvers";
   - puzzler, mystifier, teaser, riddler

Derived forms: puzzles, puzzling, puzzled

Type of: affect, bear on, bear upon, chew over, contemplate, excogitate, game, impact, meditate, mull, mull over, muse, ponder, problem, reflect, ruminate, speculate, think over

Encyclopedia: Puzzle