Adjacent Words

Riddle definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

RID'DLE, n. [See Cradle.]
An instrument for cleaning grain, being a large sieve with a perforated button, which permits the grain to pass through it, but retains the chaff.
RID'DLE, v.t. To separate, as grain from the chaff with a riddle; as, to riddle wheat. [Note. The machines now used have nearly superseded the riddle.]
RID'DLE, n. [See Read.]
1. An enigma; something proposed for conjecture, or that is to be solved by conjecture; a puzzling question; an ambiguous proposition. Judges 14.
2. Any thing ambiguous or puzzling.
RID'DLE, v.t. To solve; to explain; but we generally use unriddle, which is more proper.
Riddle me this, and guess him if you can.
RID'DLE, v.i. To speak ambiguously, obscurely or enigmatically.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a difficult problem [syn: riddle, conundrum, enigma, brain-teaser]
2: a coarse sieve (as for gravel) v
1: pierce with many holes; "The bullets riddled his body"
2: set a difficult problem or riddle; "riddle me a riddle"
3: separate with a riddle, as grain from chaff [syn: riddle, screen]
4: spread or diffuse through; "An atmosphere of distrust has permeated this administration"; "music penetrated the entire building"; "His campaign was riddled with accusations and personal attacks" [syn: permeate, pervade, penetrate, interpenetrate, diffuse, imbue, riddle]
5: speak in riddles
6: explain a riddle

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English redels, ridel, from Old English r?delse opinion, conjecture, riddle; akin to Old English r?dan to interpret — more at read Date: before 12th century 1. a mystifying, misleading, or puzzling question posed as a problem to be solved or guessed ; conundrum, enigma 2. something or someone difficult to understand Synonyms: see mystery II. verb (riddled; riddling) Date: 1571 intransitive verb to speak in or propound riddles transitive verb 1. to find the solution of ; explain 2. to set a riddle for ; puzzle • riddler noun III. noun Etymology: Middle English riddil, from Old English hriddel; akin to Latin cribrum sieve, cernere to sift — more at certain Date: before 12th century a coarse sieve IV. transitive verb (riddled; riddling) Date: 13th century 1. to separate (as grain from chaff) with a riddle ; screen 2. to pierce with many holes <riddled the car with bullets> 3. to spread through ; permeate <a book riddled with errors>

Britannica Concise

Deliberately enigmatic or ambiguous question requiring a thoughtful and often witty answer. The riddle is a form of guessing game that has been a part of the folklore of most cultures from ancient times. Western scholars generally recognize two main kinds of riddle: the descriptive riddle, usually describing an animal, person, plant, or object in an intentionally enigmatic manner (thus an egg is "a little white house without door or window"); and the shrewd or witty question. A classical Greek example of the latter type is "What is the strongest of all things?"--"Love: iron is strong, but the blacksmith is stronger, and love can subdue the blacksmith."

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. & v. --n. 1 a question or statement testing ingenuity in divining its answer or meaning. 2 a puzzling fact or thing or person. --v. 1 intr. speak in or propound riddles. 2 tr. solve or explain (a riddle). Derivatives: riddler n. Etymology: OE rædels, rædelse opinion, riddle, rel. to READ 2. v. & n. --v.tr. (usu. foll. by with) 1 make many holes in, esp. with gunshot. 2 (in passive) fill; spread through; permeate (was riddled with errors). 3 pass through a riddle. --n. a coarse sieve. Etymology: OE hriddel, earlier hrider: cf. hridrian sift

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Riddle Rid"dle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Riddled; p. pr. & vb. n. Riddling.] 1. To separate, as grain from the chaff, with a riddle; to pass through a riddle; as, riddle wheat; to riddle coal or gravel. 2. To perforate so as to make like a riddle; to make many holes in; as, a house riddled with shot.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Riddle Rid"dle, n. [For riddels, s being misunderstood as the plural ending; OE. ridels, redels. AS. r?dels; akin to D. raadsel, G. r["a]thsel; fr. AS. r?dan to counsel or advise, also, to guess. [root]116. Cf. Read.] Something proposed to be solved by guessing or conjecture; a puzzling question; an ambiguous proposition; an enigma; hence, anything ambiguous or puzzling. To wring from me, and tell to them, my secret, That solved the riddle which I had proposed. --Milton. 'T was a strange riddle of a lady. --Hudibras.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Riddle Rid"dle, n. [OE. ridil, AS. hridder; akin to G. reiter, L. cribrum, and to Gr. ??? to distinguish, separate, and G. rein clean. See Crisis, Certain.] 1. A sieve with coarse meshes, usually of wire, for separating coarser materials from finer, as chaff from grain, cinders from ashes, or gravel from sand. 2. A board having a row of pins, set zigzag, between which wire is drawn to straighten it.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Riddle Rid"dle, v. t. To explain; to solve; to unriddle. Riddle me this, and guess him if you can. --Dryden.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Riddle Rid"dle, v. i. To speak ambiguously or enigmatically. ``Lysander riddels very prettily.'' --Shak.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(riddles, riddling, riddled) 1. A riddle is a puzzle or joke in which you ask a question that seems to be nonsense but which has a clever or amusing answer. N-COUNT 2. You can describe something as a riddle if people have been trying to understand or explain it but have not been able to. Scientists claimed yesterday to have solved the riddle of the birth of the Universe. = mystery N-COUNT 3. If someone riddles something with bullets or bullet holes, they fire a lot of bullets into it. Unknown attackers riddled two homes with gunfire... VERB: V n with n

Easton's Bible Dictionary

(Heb. hodah). The oldest and, strictly speaking, the only example of a riddle was that propounded by Samson (Judg. 14:12-18). The parabolic prophecy in Ezek. 17:2-18 is there called a "riddle." It was rather, however, an allegory. The word "darkly" in 1 Cor. 13:12 is the rendering of the Greek enigma; marg., "in a riddle."

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

rid'-'-l (chidhah; ainigma).

See GAMES.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. Solve, explain, unriddle. II. n. Enigma, puzzle, dark problem, puzzling question.

Moby Thesaurus

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