riddle

rid·dle ¹

 (rĭd′l)

tr.v. rid·dled, rid·dling, rid·dles

1. To pierce with numerous holes; perforate: riddle a target with bullets.

2. To spread throughout: "Election campaigns have always been riddled with demagogy and worse" (New Republic).

3. To put (gravel, for example) through a coarse sieve.

n.

A coarse sieve, as for gravel.

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[Middle English ridelen, to sift, from riddil, sieve, from Old English hriddel; see krei- in Indo-European roots.]

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rid′dler n.

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rid·dle ²

 (rĭd′l)

n.

1. A question or statement requiring thought to answer or understand; a conundrum.

2. One that is perplexing; an enigma.

v. rid·dled, rid·dling, rid·dles

v.tr.

To solve or explain.

v.intr.

1. To propound or solve riddles.

2. To speak in riddles.

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[Middle English redels, from Old English rǣdels; see ar- in Indo-European roots.]

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rid′dler n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

riddle

(ˈrɪdəl)

n

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

vb

3. to solve, explain, or interpret (a riddle or riddles)

4. (intr) to speak in riddles

[Old English rǣdelle, rǣdelse, from rǣd counsel; related to Old Saxon rādislo, German Rätsel]

ˈriddler n

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riddle

(ˈrɪdəl)

vb (tr)

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.

n

(Tools) a sieve, esp a coarse one used for sand, grain, etc

[Old English hriddel a sieve, variant of hridder; related to Latin crībrum sieve]

ˈriddler n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

rid•dle¹

(ˈrɪd l)

n., v. -dled, -dling. n.

1. a question framed so 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.

v.i.

4. to propound riddles; speak enigmatically.

[before 1000; Middle English redel(s) (n.), Old English rǣdels(e) counsel, opinion, riddle =rǣd(an) to counsel, rede + -els(e) deverbal n. suffix; loss of -s- in Middle English through confusion with the pl. form of the n. suffix -el -le (compare burial)]

rid•dle²

(ˈrɪd l)

v. -dled, -dling,
n. v.t.

1. to pierce with many holes suggesting those of a sieve.

2. to fill or affect with (something undesirable): a government riddled with graft.

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

n.

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

[before 1100; (n.) Middle English riddil, Old English hriddel, variant of hridder, hrīder, c. German Reiter; akin to Latin crībrum sieve; (v.) Middle English ridlen to sift, derivative of the n.]

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

riddle

Past participle: riddled
Gerund: riddling

Imperative

riddle

riddle

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	riddle - a difficult problem       brain-teaser, conundrum, enigma problem - a question raised for consideration or solution; "our homework consisted of ten problems to solve"
	2.	riddle - a coarse sieve (as for gravel) sieve, screen - a strainer for separating lumps from powdered material or grading particles
Verb	1.	riddle - pierce with many holes; "The bullets riddled his body" pierce - make a hole into; "The needle pierced her flesh"
	2.	riddle - set a difficult problem or riddle; "riddle me a riddle" bewilder, dumbfound, flummox, baffle, mystify, nonplus, perplex, puzzle, stupefy, amaze, gravel, vex, pose, stick, beat, get - be a mystery or bewildering to; "This beats me!"; "Got me--I don't know the answer!"; "a vexing problem"; "This question really stuck me"
	3.	riddle - separate with a riddle, as grain from chaff screen sift, sieve, strain - separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements; "sift the flour"
	4.	riddle - 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" imbue, permeate, pervade, interpenetrate, diffuse, penetrate penetrate, perforate - pass into or through, often by overcoming resistance; "The bullet penetrated her chest" spiritise, spiritize - imbue with a spirit
	5.	riddle - speak in riddles communicate, intercommunicate - transmit thoughts or feelings; "He communicated his anxieties to the psychiatrist"
	6.	riddle - explain a riddle figure out, puzzle out, solve, lick, work out, work - find the solution to (a problem or question) or understand the meaning of; "did you solve the problem?"; "Work out your problems with the boss"; "this unpleasant situation isn't going to work itself out"; "did you get it?"; "Did you get my meaning?"; "He could not work the math problem"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

riddle

¹

noun

1. puzzle, problem, conundrum, teaser, poser, rebus, brain-teaser (informal), Chinese puzzle Tell me a riddle.

2. enigma, question, secret, mystery, puzzle, conundrum, teaser, problem a riddle of modern architecture

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riddle

²

verb pierce, pepper, puncture, perforate, honeycomb Attackers riddled two homes with gunfire.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

riddle

noun

Anything that arouses curiosity or perplexes because it is unexplained, inexplicable, or secret:

conundrum, enigma, mystery, perplexity, puzzle, puzzler.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

لُغْز، أحْجِيَهيَثْقُب كالغُرْبال

hádankaproděravět

gådegennemhulle

Rätseldurchsieben

acertijoadivinanzaenigma

devinetteénigmepuzzlecribler

gátasundurgata

crivellareenigmaindovinellovaglio

izcaurumotmīkla

загадка

prestrieľať

uganka

bilmecedelik deşik etmek

把...打得满是窟窿谜语

riddle

¹ [ˈrɪdl] N (= word puzzle) → acertijo m, adivinanza f; (= mystery) → enigma m, misterio m; (= person etc) → enigma m
to ask sb a riddle → proponer un acertijo a algn
to speak in riddles → hablar en clave

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riddle

² [ˈrɪdl]

A. N (= sieve) → criba f, criba f gruesa; (= potato sorter etc) → escogedor m

B. VT

1. (= sieve) → cribar; [+ potatoes etc] → pasar por el escogedor

2. to riddle with [+ bullets etc] → acribillar a
the house is riddled with damp → la casa tiene humedad por todas partes
the organization is riddled with communists → el organismo está plagado de comunistas
the army is riddled with subversion → el ejército está infectado de elementos subversivos

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

riddle

[ˈrɪd^əl] n

(= question) → devinette f; (posed by the Sphinx) → énigme f

(= mystery) → énigme f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

riddle

¹

n (= sieve) → (Schüttel)sieb nt

vt

soil etc → sieben; coal → sieben, schütteln

to riddle somebody/something with bullets → jdn/etw mit Kugeln durchlöchern; riddled with holes → völlig durchlöchert; riddled with woodworm → wurmzerfressen; riddled with cancer/corruption → vom Krebs/von der Korruption zerfressen; riddled with mistakes/contradictions → voller Fehler/Widersprüche

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riddle

²

n → Rätsel nt; I’ll ask you a riddle → ich werde Ihnen ein Rätsel aufgeben; to speak in riddles → in Rätseln sprechen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

riddle

¹ [ˈrɪdl] n (puzzle) → indovinello
to speak in riddles → parlare per enigmi

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riddle

² [ˈrɪdl]

1. vt (soil, coal) → setacciare, vagliare (fig) to riddle with (bullets) → crivellare di
riddled with holes → bucherellato/a
the council was riddled with corruption → la corruzione dilagava nel consiglio

2. n (sieve) → setaccio, vaglio

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

riddle¹

(ˈridl) noun

a puzzle usually in the form of a question, which describes an object, person etc in a mysterious or misleading way. Can you guess the answer to this riddle?; The answer to the riddle `What flies for ever, and never rests?' is `The wind'. raaisel لُغْز، أحْجِيَه загадка adivinha hádanka das Rätsel gåde αίνιγμαadivinanza, acertijo mõistatus معما؛ چیستان arvoitus devinetteחידה पहेली zagonetka találós kérdés teka-teki gáta indovinello なぞなぞ 수수께끼 mįslė mīkla teka-teki raadselgåtezagadka کيسې، معما adivinha ghicitoare загадка hádanka uganka zagonetka gåta ปริศนา bilmece 謎題 загадка پہیلی câu đố 谜语

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riddle²

(ˈridl) verb

to make (something) full of holes. They riddled the car with bullets. peper يَثْقُب كالغُرْبال надупчвам crivar proděravět durchsieben gennemhulle κάνω κόσκινο, γεμίζω κτ. τρύπες acribillar; cribar sõelapõhjaks tegema سوراخ سوراخ کردن ampua joku seulaksi cribler לְנָקֵב बहुत से छेद करना rešetati, izrešetati szitává lő membuat berlubang-lubang sundurgata crivellare 穴を開ける 구멍투성이로 만들다 išvarpyti izcaurumot membuat banyak lubang doorzeven gjennomhulle/-bore, pepre (po)dziurawić غلبيلول، لورى لورى كول كمزورتيارابرسيره كول (لكه ددليل) غلييل، چڼووڼى crivar a ciu­rui изрешетить prestrieľať prerešetati rešeto genomborra, peppra เจาะให้เป็นรูพรุน delik deşik etmek 射穿許多洞 зрешечувати چھوٹے چھوٹے سوراخوں سے بھرنا làm thủng lỗ chỗ 把...打得满是窟窿

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.