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
Louisiana’s solicitor general asked the Supreme Court on Monday to help resolve a conundrum.
—
Maureen Groppe, USA TODAY, 24 Mar. 2025
Addressing those critical questions is a conundrum in Lake Tahoe, where on summer days evacuation routes are already constrained by people parking on roadsides.
—Calmatters, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2025
For a premise rooted in the world of conundrums, its answers rely far too heavily on ol’ dumb luck.
—Jon O'Brien, IndieWire, 20 Mar. 2025
Music does nothing to reconcile any of its conundrums.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 18 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for conundrum
Maureen Groppe, USA TODAY, 24 Mar. 2025
Addressing those critical questions is a conundrum in Lake Tahoe, where on summer days evacuation routes are already constrained by people parking on roadsides.
—Calmatters, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2025
For a premise rooted in the world of conundrums, its answers rely far too heavily on ol’ dumb luck.
—Jon O'Brien, IndieWire, 20 Mar. 2025
Music does nothing to reconcile any of its conundrums.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 18 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for conundrum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for conundrum
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
Noun
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The Dodge Demon is a bit of an enigma, with most modern muscle cars not nearly as extreme in their quest for straight line acceleration.—
Karl Brauer,
Forbes.com,
23 Apr. 2025
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Pool/Getty Images Europe Though the modern era has expanded humanity's knowledge in many ways, the papal conclave remains an enigma.—
Joe Hernandez,
NPR,
23 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Conundrum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conundrum. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
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