puzzle over sth
— phrasal verb with puzzle /ˈpʌz.l̩/ verb [I + adv/prep, T]Definition
› to try to solve a problem or understand a situation by thinking carefully about it: Scientists are puzzling over the results of the research on the drug.Thinking and contemplatingConfusion, confusing and feeling confused
(Definition of puzzle over sth from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus
© Cambridge University Press)
Browse related topics
You are looking at an entry to do with Thinking and contemplating, but you might be interested in these topics from the Using the mind topic area:
- Analysing and evaluating
- Aware
- Believable
- Believing
- Changing your mind
- Concluding and deducing
- Continually thinking about
- Decisions and deciding
- Deep in thought
- Difficult to understand
- Dreaming
- Easy to understand
- Empathy and sensitivity
- Experienced
- Experts and specialists
- Expressing and asking opinions
- Forgetting and forgetfulness
- Guesses and assumptions
- Guessing, supposing and suspecting
- Ideas, concepts and theories
- Imagining and conceiving
- Inability and awkwardness
- Inexperienced (of people)
- Inexperienced people and lack of experience
- Inspiration and inspiring
- Intelligence
- Intelligent people
- Judgments and analyses
- Knowledge and awareness
- Logic and reason
- Memory and memories
- Mind and personality
- Misunderstanding
- Not believable
- Not believing
- Not expected or planned
- Opinions, beliefs and points of view
- People who analyse and judge
- People who make predictions
- Philosophy
- Planning, expecting and arranging
- Plans and arrangements
- Predicting things and intuition
- Remembering, reminding and reminders
- Skill, talent and ability
- Skilled, talented and able
- Solving and solutions
- Stupid and silly
- Stupid and silly behaviour
- Stupid and silly people
- Testing, checking and experimenting
- Trusting and not trusting
- Unaware
- Understanding and comprehending
- Wise and sensible
Browse the Dictionary
-
putting green noun
-
putty noun
-
putz noun
-
puy lentils noun
-
puzzle noun
- puzzle over sth phrasal verb
-
puzzle sth out phrasal verb
-
puzzle verb
-
puzzled adjective
-
puzzlement noun
-
puzzler noun
Browse the Thesaurus
SMART Thesaurus
Synonyms and related words:
- -ly suffix (ADVERB)
- agonize over/about sth phrasal verb
- chew sth over phrasal verb
- chew the cud idiom
- cogitate verb
- consider verb (POSSIBILITY)
- consideration noun (CAREFUL THINKING)
- consideration noun (SUBJECT/FACT)
- dip noun (QUICK LOOK)
- harbour verb (HAVE IN MIND)
- joined-up thinking noun
- lateral thinking noun
- let me see/let's see idiom
- let's see idiom
- reflection noun (THOUGHT)
- take a long, hard look at sth idiom
- take sth into account idiom
- the thought crosses sb's mind idiom
- think sth out phrasal verb
- think sth over phrasal verb
Topic:
Thinking and contemplating
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Our dictionaries
Word of the Day
Blog
Read our blog about how the English language behaves.
New Words
Find words and meanings that have just started to be used in English, and let us know what you think of them.
