riddle

1. 1.

   a difficult problem

   Synonymsconundrumenigmabrain-teaser

   Broaderproblem
2. 2.

   a coarse sieve (as for gravel)

   Broadersieve

Other forms of riddle

plural

riddles·

past tense

riddled·

present participle

riddling·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about riddle

What does riddle mean?

riddle means "pierce with many holes". That is the primary sense; the word has 8 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in riddle?

riddle has 2 syllables: rid-dle. The stress falls on "rid". In IPA it is /ˈɹɪdəl/.

What is another word for riddle?

Close synonyms include screen, permeate, pervade, penetrate, interpenetrate. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is riddle a common word?

riddle is banded "Familiar" — widely understood, used when the subject calls for it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.