51Թ

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View synonyms for

riddle

1

[ rid-l ]

noun

  1. a question or statement so framed as to exercise one's ingenuity in answering it or discovering its meaning; conundrum.
  2. a puzzling question, problem, or matter.
  3. a puzzling thing or person.
  4. any enigmatic or dark saying or speech.


verb (used without object)

riddled, riddling.
  1. to propound riddles; speak enigmatically.

riddle

2

[ rid-l ]

verb (used with object)

riddled, riddling.
  1. to pierce with many holes, suggesting those of a sieve:

    to riddle the target.

  2. to fill or affect with (something undesirable, weakening, etc.):

    a government riddled with graft.

  3. to impair or refute completely by persistent verbal attacks:

    to riddle a person's reputation.

  4. to sift through a riddle, as gravel; screen.

noun

  1. a coarse sieve, as one for sifting sand in a foundry.

riddle

1

/ ˈɪə /

noun

  1. a question, puzzle, or verse so phrased that ingenuity is required for elucidation of the answer or meaning; conundrum
  2. a person or thing that puzzles, perplexes, or confuses; enigma
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to solve, explain, or interpret (a riddle or riddles)
  2. intr to speak in riddles
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

riddle

2

/ ˈɪə /

verb

  1. usually foll by with to pierce or perforate with numerous holes

    riddled with bullets

  2. to damage or impair
  3. to put through a sieve; sift
  4. to fill or pervade

    the report was riddled with errors

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a sieve, esp a coarse one used for sand, grain, etc
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈ, noun
  • ˈ, noun
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of riddle1

First recorded before 1000; Middle English noun redel, redels, Old English ǣ() “counsel, opinion, imagination, riddle” + -els(e) noun suffix; cognate with German äٲ, 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 īܳ “sieve”; verb derivative of the noun
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of riddle1

Old English ǣelle, ǣelse , from ǣ counsel; related to Old Saxon , German äٲ

Origin of riddle2

Old English hriddel a sieve, variant of hridder ; related to Latin īܳ sieve
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Synonym Study

See puzzle.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

We had to operate carefully, because the country is riddled with informers and secret police who spy on their own people for the ruling military junta.

From

And just as tobacco riddles the lungs, Amazon, one could argue in their preachiest moment, rots the soul.

From

Mr Robinson, who runs Hello Starling, a Cardiff-based advertising agency, said vacancies at his business were attracting applications that were riddled with AI-generated sentences.

From

Teslas have been set ablaze with Molotov cocktails, riddled with bullets and defaced with swastikas.

From

On the highway, our team found a car riddled with bullets.

From

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