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Glite Dictionary
thought-provoking puzzle

thought-provoking puzzle

6.3
Something that makes you think hard about a topic
  • noun
translation icon : rompecabezas que invita a la reflexión
  • She spent hours working on a particularly thought-provoking puzzle that tested her reasoning skills.

Examples

  • The magazine publishes a thought-provoking puzzle every week to challenge its readers.

  • Teachers often use a thought-provoking puzzle to encourage creative problem-solving in class.

  • This is a challenging thought-provoking puzzle.

  • Did you find the thought-provoking puzzle interesting?

  • Teachers often use a thought-provoking puzzle to encourage creative problem-solving in class.

  • The magazine publishes a thought-provoking puzzle every week to challenge its readers.

  • She spent hours working on a particularly thought-provoking puzzle that tested her reasoning skills.

Synonyms

puzzler
vsthought-provoking puzzle
5 6.7

A difficult question or problem for people to solve

promotes deep, serious thinking rather than playful game solving
teaser
vsthought-provoking puzzle
4 6.3

A tricky question or puzzle that tests your skill

encourages deep, serious thinking rather than testing cleverness
brainteaser
vsthought-provoking puzzle
1 5.1

A difficult puzzle that needs careful thinking to solve

stimulates deeper, serious reflection rather than just solution effort

Antonyms

trivial
121 3.9

Not important or serious

How Thought-Provoking

thought-provoking puzzle
6.3
brainteaser
1 5.1
riddle
129 4.9
no-brainer
  • Informal
45 3.4

Surface Forms

thought-provoking puzzle singular
thought-provoking puzzles plural

Morphology

thought-provoking + puzzle

The meaning ‘a puzzle that stimulates deep or serious thinking’ is directly compositional from 'thought-provoking' (causing deep consideration) + 'puzzle' (a mental problem). This adjective+noun combination follows a common, literal formation found cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Thought-provoking puzzle paints a picture of a puzzle that gently pokes your thoughts, waking new ideas in your head. So, a thought-provoking puzzle 'makes you think deeply'.