# puzzling

Pronunciation: say "PUZ-ling" /ˈpʌzlɪŋ/

## Adjective

1. Difficult to understand or explain; confusing or hard to make sense of.
   - Simple: Hard to understand or figure out.
   - _Detectives found the missing evidence deeply puzzling._
   - _The instrument's readings were puzzling enough to halt the experiment._

## Verb

2. Present participle and gerund of puzzle. — present participle and gerund of puzzle
   - Simple: Present participle of puzzle. Use this form for something happening right now.
   - _He sat at his desk, puzzling over the cryptic message for hours._
   - _Scientists are still puzzling over the unexpected data from the probe._

## Noun

3. Time spent pondering or thinking over something confusing.
   - Simple: Time you spend thinking hard about something confusing.
   - _The cryptic clue required hours of puzzling before anyone solved it._
   - _A bit of puzzling over the diagram revealed the hidden flaw._

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/puzzling (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).