riddle
1 Americannoun
-
a question or statement so framed as to exercise one's ingenuity in answering it or discovering its meaning; conundrum.
-
a puzzling question, problem, or matter.
-
a puzzling thing or person.
-
any enigmatic or dark saying or speech.
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
-
to pierce with many holes, suggesting those of a sieve.
to riddle the target.
-
to fill or affect with (something undesirable, weakening, etc.).
a government riddled with graft.
-
to impair or refute completely by persistent verbal attacks.
to riddle a person's reputation.
-
to sift through a riddle, as gravel; screen.
noun
verb
-
(usually foll by with) to pierce or perforate with numerous holes
riddled with bullets
-
to damage or impair
-
to put through a sieve; sift
-
to fill or pervade
the report was riddled with errors
noun
noun
-
a question, puzzle, or verse so phrased that ingenuity is required for elucidation of the answer or meaning; conundrum
-
a person or thing that puzzles, perplexes, or confuses; enigma
verb
-
to solve, explain, or interpret (a riddle or riddles)
-
(intr) to speak in riddles
Related Words
See puzzle.
Other Word Forms
- riddler noun
Etymology
Origin of riddle1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English noun redel, redels, Old English rǣdels(e) “counsel, opinion, imagination, riddle” + -els(e) noun suffix; cognate with German Rätsel, Dutch raadsel; rede
Origin of riddle2
First recorded before 1100; Middle English noun riddil, Old English hriddel, variant of hridder, hrīder; cognate with German Reiter; akin to Latin crībrum “sieve”; verb derivative of the noun
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“It’s not that we don’t accept the results from Healthy Florida First because we don’t like them, but because they are highly suspect and riddled with errors,” she said.
From Salon
When the January 2025 firestorms swept through Altadena and Pacific Palisades they not only burned down homes but left thousands still standing riddled with smoke damage.
From Los Angeles Times
‘Nobody knows. All we have is a riddle.’
From Literature
A 48-46 defeat, settled by a France penalty with the clock in the red, only adds to the riddle.
From BBC
But perhaps the best thing to come of the record was that Blake was able to “solve some riddles” that had haunted him for quite some time.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
