1. A difficult problem
   "The ethical riddle had no easy solution";
   - conundrum, enigma, brain-teaser
    
2. A coarse sieve (as for gravel)
   "They used a riddle to separate the larger stones from the soil"

1. Pierce with many holes
   "The bullets riddled his body"
    
2. Separate with a riddle, as grain from chaff
   "They riddled the wheat to remove impurities";
   - screen
    
3. Spread or diffuse through
   "His campaign was riddled with accusations and personal attacks";
   - permeate, pervade, penetrate, interpenetrate, diffuse, imbue
    
4. Set a difficult problem or riddle
   "riddle me a riddle"
    
5. Explain a riddle
   "Can you riddle this ancient puzzle for me?"
    
6. [archaic] Speak in riddles
   "The mystic riddled about the nature of existence"

Derived forms: riddled, riddles, riddling

Type of: baffle, beat, bedevil, befuddle, bewilder, communicate, confound, confuse, discombobulate [informal], dumbfound, figure out, flummox, fox, fuddle, get, gravel, intercommunicate, lick [N. Amer, informal], mystify, nonplus, penetrate, perplex, pierce, pose, problem, puzzle, puzzle out, screen, sieve, sift, solve, stick, strain, stupefy, suss [Brit, informal], suss out [Brit, informal], throw, unriddle, vex, work, work out

Encyclopedia: Riddle, Mike