riddle

/ˈrɪdl/

/ˈrɪdəl/

Other forms: riddles; riddled; riddling

What's a question or problem that requires a bit of thought before you answer? It's a riddle, of course. The verb riddle can mean to speak in a puzzling fashion, though that use is not very common.

The word riddle might put you in mind of such brain-teasers as "Why did the chicken cross the road?", but riddles actually have a distinguished history in English literature going back to the 10th century. Today, you often find riddle used to mean a hard problem or question to figure out. Is it a riddle to you why you have to go to school? In an unrelated use, if something is riddled with holes, there are many holes in it, quite possibly from bullets!

Definitions of riddle

1. verb

   pierce with many holes
   type of:

   pierce

   make a hole into
2. verb

   spread or diffuse through
   “His campaign was riddled with accusations and personal attacks”

   synonyms: diffuse, imbue, interpenetrate, penetrate, permeate, pervade

   types:

   spiritise, spiritize

   imbue with a spirit

   type of:

   penetrate, perforate

   pass into or through, often by overcoming resistance
3. verb

   separate with a riddle, as grain from chaff
   synonyms: screen

   type of:

   sieve, sift, strain

   separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements
4. noun

   a coarse sieve (as for gravel)
   type of:

   screen, sieve

   a strainer for separating lumps from powdered material or grading particles
5. noun

   a difficult problem
   synonyms: brain-teaser, conundrum, enigma

   type of:

   problem

   a question raised for consideration or solution
6. verb

   set a difficult problem or riddle
   “riddle me a riddle”

   type of:

   amaze, baffle, beat, bewilder, dumbfound, flummox, get, gravel, mystify, nonplus, perplex, pose, puzzle, stick, stupefy, vex

   be puzzling or bewildering to
7. verb

   explain a riddle
   type of:

   figure out, lick, puzzle out, solve, work, work out

   find the solution to (a problem or question) or understand the meaning of
8. verb

   speak in riddles
   type of:

   communicate, intercommunicate

   transmit thoughts or feelings