conundrum
Use Conundrum in a sentence
drəm noun
1.
a riddle, the answer to which involves a pun or play on words, as What is black and white and read all over? A newspaper.
2.
anything that puzzles.
Origin:
1590–1600; pseudo-L word of obscure origin
1590–1600; pseudo-L word of obscure origin
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To conundrum
Collins
World English Dictionary
conundrum (kəˈnʌndrəm) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a riddle, esp one whose answer makes a play on words |
| 2. | a puzzling question or problem |
| [C16: of unknown origin] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
Conundrum
is an SAT word you need to know.
So is germane. Does it mean:
| closely or significantly related; relevant; pertinent: |
| tremulous fear, alarm, or agitation |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
conundrum
1596, Oxford University slang for "pedant," also "whim," etc., later (1790) "riddle, puzzle," also spelled quonundrum; the sort of ponderous pseudo-Latin word that was once the height of humor in learned circles.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Cite This Source
Example sentences
In fact, the fact that they are changeable and mutable is what brought me into this conundrum in the first place.
Few movies have worked out that conundrum so powerfully, or so effectively dramatized the folly of judging by partial evidence.
For the moment, the broadly unanticipated behavior of world bond markets remains a conundrum.
The solution to this conundrum, in the eyes of many governments, is nuclear power.
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