as in mystery
something hard to understand or explain
the conundrum of how an ancient people were able to build such massive structures without the benefit of today's knowledge and technology
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Recent Examples of conundrum
Former airline pilot Dan Bubb, who is a historian and professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, settled the viral conundrum.
—
Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 May 2025
Sellers are now faced with the conundrum of raising prices or eating the extra costs associated with Trump's new tariffs.
—Annie Palmer, CNBC, 25 Apr. 2025
Meanwhile, as her star rises, everyone in her orbit is confronted with smaller-scale versions of this same conundrum.
—Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 25 Apr. 2025
That means that the failure to detect such a cosmic titan at the heart of the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, officially known as Messier 83 (M83), has been a frustrating conundrum.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 22 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for conundrum
Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 May 2025
Sellers are now faced with the conundrum of raising prices or eating the extra costs associated with Trump's new tariffs.
—Annie Palmer, CNBC, 25 Apr. 2025
Meanwhile, as her star rises, everyone in her orbit is confronted with smaller-scale versions of this same conundrum.
—Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 25 Apr. 2025
That means that the failure to detect such a cosmic titan at the heart of the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, officially known as Messier 83 (M83), has been a frustrating conundrum.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 22 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for conundrum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for conundrum
Noun
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Ray is an enigma and a mystery, a man who zips into town on a motorbike like a phantom and could just as easily evaporate at any minute.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
18 May 2025
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The identity of the man in the photo remained a mystery to the outside world until USA TODAY sought clarification from federal officials.—
Rick Jervis,
USA Today,
18 May 2025
Noun
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The new research resolves a two-decade-long enigma relating to a bright flash that was observed coming from the magnetar SGR 1806-20—which lies some 42,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Sagittarius—back in late 2004.—
Ian Randall,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Apr. 2025
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Just like the woman herself, Melania Trump’s wedding dress is a mystery wrapped in an enigma.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
27 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Conundrum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conundrum. Accessed 22 May. 2025.
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