conundrum

[kuh-nuhn-druh m]

See more synonyms for conundrum on Thesaurus.com

noun

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.
anything that puzzles.

Origin of conundrum

First recorded in 1590–1600; pseudo-L word of obscure origin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for conundrum

Contemporary Examples

This Fourth of July conundrum was addressed all the way back in 1907, in the esteemed medical journal JAMA.
How Not to Blow Yourself Up on July 4th
Kent Sepkowitz
July 3, 2014
The Burger Chef conundrum leads to another poignant exchange between the two lost souls.
Mad Men’s ‘The Strategy,’ With Peggy and Don’s Late-Night Powwow, is S7’s Best Episode (So Far)
Marlow Stern
May 19, 2014
Compounding the conundrum further is the fact that many cellphones allow direct access to information in remote cloud storage.
Can Government Call the Shots on Cellphone Privacy?
Aziz Huq
April 30, 2014
The result is a conundrum for the Republican Party where there is no clear middle ground.
Even a Path to Citizenship for Military Volunteers Is Too Much for House Republicans
Ben Jacobs
April 7, 2014
This conundrum is referred to with the awful acronym of DURC, for “dual use research of concern.”
The Deadliest Botox Has Arrived
Kent Sepkowitz
October 18, 2013

Historical Examples

"This is obviously a conundrum," said Yates, ticking off the items on his four fingers.
In the Midst of Alarms
Robert Barr
This may be a good solution, viewing the problem as a conundrum: but it is not scientific.
A Tangled Tale
Lewis Carroll
Brainerd lay sleeping near me, and I thought of his comment, 'A conundrum?'
Against Odds
Lawrence L. Lynch
"Give you my honor I thought it was a conundrum," says Henry Darley.
Molly Bawn
Margaret Wolfe Hamilton
And my conundrum was, Had I lectured my curate, or had my curate lectured me?
My New Curate
P.A. Sheehan

British Dictionary definitions for conundrum

conundrum

noun

a riddle, esp one whose answer makes a play on words
a puzzling question or problem

Word Origin

C16: of unknown origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for conundrum

n.

1590s, 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.

conundrum

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}conundrum

Examples from the Web for conundrum

Contemporary Examples

This Fourth of July conundrum was addressed all the way back in 1907, in the esteemed medical journal JAMA.

The Burger Chef conundrum leads to another poignant exchange between the two lost souls.

Compounding the conundrum further is the fact that many cellphones allow direct access to information in remote cloud storage.

The result is a conundrum for the Republican Party where there is no clear middle ground.

This conundrum is referred to with the awful acronym of DURC, for “dual use research of concern.”

Historical Examples

"This is obviously a conundrum," said Yates, ticking off the items on his four fingers.

This may be a good solution, viewing the problem as a conundrum: but it is not scientific.

Brainerd lay sleeping near me, and I thought of his comment, 'A conundrum?'

"Give you my honor I thought it was a conundrum," says Henry Darley.

And my conundrum was, Had I lectured my curate, or had my curate lectured me?

conundrum

Word Origin

Word Origin and History for conundrum

n.

Origin of conundrum