conundrum
Americannoun
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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.
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anything that puzzles.
noun
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a riddle, esp one whose answer makes a play on words
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a puzzling question or problem
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of conundrum
First recorded in 1590–1600; pseudo-Latin word of obscure origin
Explanation
The tricky word conundrum is used to describe a riddle or puzzle, sometimes including a play on words or pun. One of the most famous conundrums is the riddle of the Sphinx, famously in the play Oedipus the King by Sophocles. Oedipus encounters the Sphinx, a mythical beast, who asks him, "What walks on four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three in the evening?" The answer is "A person": crawling as a child, walking as an adult, and using a cane in old age. The scary thing is that if the Sphinx asked you the riddle and you didn't know, she'd eat you!
Vocabulary lists containing conundrum
100 Top "SAT" Words
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In a Pickle: Words for When You're in Trouble
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Well, that is a conundrum that Mrs. Waters, in the interest of avoiding confrontation with her life’s cognitive dissonance, should probably learn to live with.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
The conundrum is that, when I pass, all my retirement income will be reduced to $30,000 a year for my wife, assuming she outlives me.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
Most electronics—laptops, tablets, gaming devices, phones, your next car, your next smart TV—are getting way more expensive, thanks to a simple supply-and-demand conundrum.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
The jurisdictional conundrum grew only worse as the VA issued 99-year leases to local developers to build those initial 1,200 units.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
You will recall the cosmological conundrum with which we ended the first chapter–that the Big Bang created lots of light gases but no heavy elements.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
Their work is a cultural bridge much like Ashitaka’s effort to bring the worlds of beasts and men together for a common cause, depicting what Miyazaki sees as one of humanism’s central conundrums.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
A trio of comedies about lost, affluent white men grapples with the manly conundrums of our times—and paints a troubled picture of modern men.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026
For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, David, and special guest Stephen Colbert answer listeners’ conundrums of all kinds: the meaningful, the trivial, and the delightfully absurd.
From Slate ● Dec. 18, 2025
That means some interesting conundrums may arise during the race.
From BBC ● Dec. 2, 2025
The categories of grammar reflect the building blocks of thought—time, space, causality, matter—and a philosophical wordsmith can play with them to awaken her readers to metaphysical conundrums.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
