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Antonyms for riddle

Grammar : Noun, verb
Spell : rid-l
Phonetic Transcription : ˈrɪd l

Definition of riddle

Origin :
  • "A word game or joke, comprising a question or statement couched in deliberately puzzling terms, propounded for solving by the hearer/reader using clues embedded within that wording" [Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore], early 13c., from Old English rædels "riddle; counsel; conjecture; imagination; discussion," common Germanic (cf. Old Frisian riedsal "riddle," Old Saxon radisli, Middle Dutch raetsel, Dutch raadsel, Old High German radisle, German Rätsel "riddle").
  • The first element is from Proto-Germanic *redaz-, from PIE *re-dh-, from PIE *re(1)- "to reason, count" (cf. Old English rædan "to advise, counsel, read, guess;" see read (v.)). The ending is Old English noun suffix -els, the -s of which later was mistaken for a plural affix and stripped off. Meaning "anything which puzzles or perplexes" is from late 14c.
  • noun brain-teaser
  • verb perforate, permeate
Example sentences :
  • The sphinx did not slay herself until her riddle had been guessed.
  • Extract from : « The Hall of Fantasy (From "Mosses From An Old Manse") » by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  • Percy Roden was gratified, and read the riddle by the light of his own vanity.
  • Extract from : « Roden's Corner » by Henry Seton Merriman
  • "He hasn't got a father," I replied, hoping for some answer as to a riddle.
  • Extract from : « Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood » by George MacDonald
  • I had enough of it, and went out, firmly resolved to find the key to the riddle.
  • Extract from : « A Hero of Our Time » by M. Y. Lermontov
  • All questioning was vain; her heart gave no solution of the riddle.
  • Extract from : « Beauty and The Beast, and Tales From Home » by Bayard Taylor
  • After having read it, she assured me that this script was a riddle to her.
  • Extract from : « The Memoirs of Madame de Montespan, Complete » by Madame La Marquise De Montespan
  • Juve now knew the answer to the riddle of the bandit's disappearance.
  • Extract from : « A Nest of Spies » by Pierre Souvestre
  • Fandor realised that, in this instance, the riddle of sex was still unsolved.
  • Extract from : « A Nest of Spies » by Pierre Souvestre
  • Scientific men were appealed to, to help solve the riddle, but were helpless.
  • Extract from : « The Einstein See-Saw » by Miles John Breuer
  • This, however, like a prophet he expresses in a sort of riddle, for 'Know thyself!'
  • Extract from : « Charmides » by Plato

Synonyms for riddle

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019