puzzle

puzzle既可以指让人想不明白的难题，也可以指需要动脑完成的益智游戏；作动词时表示使人困惑，或费力思考某事。

💡 记忆钩子

把puzzle想成一堆暂时拼不起来的碎片：碎片拼不出答案，就是“难题”或“谜题”；把碎片拼起来的活动，就是“益智游戏”；面对碎片想了又想，是“困惑地思考”，而让别人找不到拼法，就是“使人困惑”。

📝 学习建议

先掌握“难题、益智游戏”和“使困惑、苦思”这条主线，再记住填字游戏、拼图和谜语都是具体类型。
不要把puzzle只理解成“拼图”；在抽象语境中，它常指令人费解的事情或问题。

📖 中文释义

noun

core 难题；令人费解的事

📖 指事情的原因、答案或道理暂时无法理解，让人不知道该怎样解释。

💡 常用“a puzzle to someone”表示“对某人来说是个谜”，也可说“solve a puzzle”。它既能指一个问题，也能指一件令人费解的事实；不要误解为只有游戏才叫puzzle。

Why the machine stopped is still a puzzle.

这台机器为什么停了，仍然是个谜。

The sudden change in his story was a puzzle to everyone.

他叙述中的突然变化让所有人都感到费解。
core 益智游戏；解谜题

📖 指需要一个人或多人动脑推理、寻找办法，才能解决或完成的游戏。

💡 常用“do、solve、complete a puzzle”描述进行或完成这种游戏。这里的puzzle是总称，填字游戏、拼图和谜语都可以是它的具体形式；不要把它只译成某一种游戏。

We spent the afternoon doing a puzzle together.

我们一起做益智游戏，度过了一个下午。

This puzzle is harder than it looks.

这个益智游戏比看上去难。
common 填字游戏

📖 指在方格中根据线索填入单词的益智游戏，是puzzle的一种具体形式。

💡 通常说“do、solve、complete a puzzle”，若要明确是填字游戏，应使用表示填字游戏的完整说法或根据上下文判断。英美语境中具体叫法可能不同，学习时先把它当作puzzle的一个类别。

My grandmother does the crossword puzzle every morning.

我祖母每天早上都做填字游戏。
common 拼图

📖 指把许多形状各异的碎片拼成完整图案的游戏或作品。

💡 常用“do、put together、finish a puzzle”描述拼拼图。若要突出“拼图”这一具体类型，应使用表示拼图的完整说法；单独说puzzle时，也可能只是一般的难题。

The children put together a puzzle of a castle.

孩子们拼好了一幅城堡图案的拼图。
common 谜语

📖 指用问题、双关或隐含线索让人猜答案的文字或口头游戏。

💡 常与“tell、ask、solve a puzzle”连用；如果明确指传统的问答谜语，也可以使用表示谜语的专门词。上下文中若出现猜答案、给线索等内容，puzzle才容易被理解为这一具体类型。

Can you solve this puzzle before dinner?

你能在晚饭前猜出这个谜语吗？
rare 精巧的构造物

📖 旧式用法，指制作得非常精巧、构思巧妙的东西，可看作从“需要琢磨的复杂物件”引申而来。

💡 这是古旧或边缘用法，现代日常英语中通常不这样使用。阅读旧文学时可根据上下文理解，不要把它作为现代口语中的首选义项。

archaic
common 困惑；不知所措

📖 指人处于想不明白、找不到答案的状态，也就是面对一堆无法拼合的碎片时的心理状态。

💡 常见结构是“be in a puzzle”，但现代英语更常用表示“感到困惑”的其他表达。这个义项较书面或较旧，学习时优先掌握“难题”这一名词义，不要把它和动词用法混为一谈。

She was in a puzzle about what to do next.

她不知道下一步该怎么办，感到很困惑。

puzzles plural

verb

core 使困惑；使费解

📖 指某件事让人找不到答案或解释，就像碎片无法拼出完整图案一样。

💡 基本结构是“puzzle someone”或“puzzle someone with something”，主语通常是问题、行为或事实。它强调造成困惑，不等于单纯“让人感到惊讶”；不要在宾语前随意加介词。

transitive

Her calm reaction puzzled me.

她平静的反应让我感到困惑。

The strange message puzzled the police.

这条奇怪的信息让警方摸不着头脑。
core 苦思；困惑地思考

📖 指自己面对难题反复思考，努力把零散线索拼成答案。

💡 常用“puzzle over/about something”表示长时间琢磨某事，后面通常接问题、线索或原因。它表示认真而困惑地思考，不只是普通的“想一想”；不要漏掉over或about。

intransitive

I puzzled over the instructions for half an hour.

我对着说明琢磨了半个小时。

They puzzled over how the door had opened.

他们苦苦思索门是怎么打开的。
common 使复杂难解；使纠缠

📖 指把问题、线索或安排弄得像复杂的迷宫一样，更难理清或解决。

💡 常见于较书面或分析性的表达，宾语通常是问题、局面、线索或解释。现代日常英语中，人们更常用表示“使复杂化”的普通说法；使用puzzle时要保留“难以理清”的感觉。

transitive

The missing records puzzled the investigation further.

缺失的记录让调查变得更加难以理清。

puzzles present,singular,third-person puzzling participle,present puzzled participle,past puzzled past

📘 英文释义 (WordNet) 共 4 组

be a mystery or bewildering to; ; ;

同义词集: perplex vex stick get puzzle mystify baffle beat pose bewilder flummox stupefy nonplus gravel amaze dumbfound

This beats me!

Got me--I don't know the answer!

a vexing problem

This question really stuck me

上位: bedevil, befuddle, confound, confuse, discombobulate, fox, fuddle, throw 下位: elude, escape, mix up, riddle, stump 参见: figure out, lick, puzzle out, solve, work, work out

be uncertain about; think about without fully understanding or being able to decide

同义词集: puzzle

We puzzled over her sudden departure

上位: chew over, contemplate, excogitate, meditate, mull, mull over, muse, ponder, reflect, ruminate, speculate, think over

a game that tests your ingenuity

同义词集: puzzle

上位: game 下位: crossword, crossword puzzle

a particularly baffling problem that is said to have a correct solution;

同义词集: puzzle puzzler mystifier teaser

he loved to solve chessmate puzzles

that's a real puzzler

上位: problem

🌳 词源

词源不确定，可能由表示“使困惑、盘问”的词根和表示反复动作的后缀构成；动词用法大约早于名词用法。

The verb, of uncertain origin, is attested first. Apparently cognate with Scots pousle, pouzle, poozle (“to trifle; poke or potter around aimlessly; search about with uncertainty”), Saterland Frisian puzelje (“to work hard and continuously”), West Frisian peuzelje (“to trifle, work slowly; eat slowly and daintifully, snack”), Dutch peuzelen (“to perform insignificant work, dawdle; pick at, eat with relish in small pieces, snack”), German Low German pusseln (“to tinker, fiddle; trifle”) and pöseln (“to work hard, toil; to slave away; suffer at work; work slowly and ineffectively”), German posseln, bosseln (“to perform trivial work, tinker”), Danish pusle (“to busy oneself with light work or chores; to be occupied with a task requiring ingenuity, care, and patience; to tinker”), Swedish pyssla (“to do light work; tinker; putter or potter around”), Norwegian Nynorsk pusla, putla (“to potter about”), Faroese putla (“to trifle; potter about; do one's work slowly; be dilatory”), Faroese puss (“damage, trick”). * An early form of the word is pusle, which is similar to Old English puslian (“to pick out the best bits, carefully select, cull”). It is possible that the meaning of the word evolved from “to pick out the best bits”, to “to think long and carefully in bewilderment while choosing what to pick out”, to “to think long and carefully in bewilderment”. However, there is no evidence in Middle English or modern English of any intermediate words with these meanings. * Alternatively, it has been suggested that the word is from pose (“(obsolete) to interrogate, question”) + -le (frequentative suffix). However, the Oxford English Dictionary notes that early forms of the word are all spelled with -u-, and that a sound change in Middle English from ō to u “is not easily accounted for”. * Finally, it has been suggested that the past participle form of the word is attested by Middle English poselet. This is thought to be unlikely by the Oxford English Dictionary as poselet is attested in only one quotation with the meaning “jostled, pushed”, which does not have any connection with the current senses of the word. The noun appears to be derived from the verb.

🔄 变式

puzzled past puzzles plural puzzling present

🏷 单词标签 & 词根