as in mystery
something hard to understand or explain
the couple's unorthodox marriage is definitely a closed book to those outside of the relationship
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Recent Examples of closed book
Simply looking at the closed book won't spoil anything.
—
Sam MacHkovech, Ars Technica, 19 Sep. 2022
Alex Steel, the director of teaching strategy and a professor of law at the University of New South Wales, said a number of universities across Australia have announced a move back to closed book exams.
—Samantha Murphy Kelly, CNN, 19 Jan. 2023
And there’s reason to believe that Kirchick sees this history as a closed book, a chapter that now belongs to the past.
—Samuel Clowes Huneke, The New Republic, 8 June 2022
Readings of Alwyn as a closed book could be down to him being interviewed by people who aren’t used to encountering his English sensibility.
—Louis Staples, Harper's BAZAAR, 17 May 2022
Tightly gathered, accordion-like pastry sheets fold neatly onto themselves, resembling the edge of a closed book.
—Vivian Song, Robb Report, 1 June 2021
Sam MacHkovech, Ars Technica, 19 Sep. 2022
Alex Steel, the director of teaching strategy and a professor of law at the University of New South Wales, said a number of universities across Australia have announced a move back to closed book exams.
—Samantha Murphy Kelly, CNN, 19 Jan. 2023
And there’s reason to believe that Kirchick sees this history as a closed book, a chapter that now belongs to the past.
—Samuel Clowes Huneke, The New Republic, 8 June 2022
Readings of Alwyn as a closed book could be down to him being interviewed by people who aren’t used to encountering his English sensibility.
—Louis Staples, Harper's BAZAAR, 17 May 2022
Tightly gathered, accordion-like pastry sheets fold neatly onto themselves, resembling the edge of a closed book.
—Vivian Song, Robb Report, 1 June 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for closed book
Noun
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The observatory, which is funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, is designed to scrutinize the solar atmosphere and the sun's magnetic field for tiny features that might reveal answers to some of the fundamental solar mysteries.—
Sharmila Kuthunur,
Space.com,
24 Apr. 2025
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Mother and daughter were linked through DNA analysis in 2015, but their identities remained a mystery.—
Christine Pelisek,
People.com,
23 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Closed book.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/closed%20book. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
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