conundrum
English · Thesaurus
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conundrum
- /kəˈnʌn.dɹəm/ UK, US
Where it comes from
A word of unknown origin with several variants, gaining popularity for its burlesque imitation of scholastic Latin, as hocus-pocus or panjandrum. If there is more to its origin than a nonce coinage, Anatoly Liberman suggests the best theory is that connecting it with the Conimbricenses, 16th c. scholastic commentaries on Aristotle by the Jesuits of Coimbra which indulge heavily in arguments relying on multiple significations of words.
noun conundrums · conundra
-
A difficult question or riddle, especially one using a play on words in the answer.
“Why should I understand that, or anything else?” asked the girl. “Don’t bother my head by asking conundrums, I beg of you. Just let me discover myself in my own way.”
Similar: brain-teaser, enigma, puzzle, riddle, crux
-
A difficult choice or decision that must be made.
2004, Martha Stewart, statement read before being sentenced to five months in prison
And while I am more concerned about the well-being of others than for myself, more hurt for them and for their losses than for my own, more worried for their futures than for the future of Martha Stewart the person,
Similar: dilemma, Catch-22, Hobson's choice, Morton's fork, no-win situation, quandary, Sophie's choice
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: riddle, brain-teaser, enigma, quandary, puzzle, dilemma, predicament, mystery, trade-off, problem, secret, question, questioner, ate, clue, headache
Translations
Every language
noun difficult question or riddle
| Español | adivinanza, acertijo |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 字谜 zìmí |
| Português | adivinha |
| Français | énigme, problème, casse-tête |
| Deutsch | Rätsel, Scherzfrage, schwierige Frage, Vexierfrage, Rätselfrage, Kopfzerbrecher |
| Italiano | rompicapo, enigma, indovinello, rebus |
| Ελληνικά | αίνιγμα aínigma, γρίφος grífos, σπαζοκεφαλιά spazokefaliá |
| Русский | зага́дка zagádka, головоло́мка golovolómka |
| Tiếng Việt | nan đề |
noun difficult choice or decision
| Español | interrogante, dilema, enigma |
|---|---|
| Português | dilema |
| Français | dilemme |
| Deutsch | Dilemma, Qual der Wahl, Entscheidungsfrage, Zwickmühle |
| Italiano | dilemma, enigma |
| Ελληνικά | δίλημμα dílimma |
| Română | dilemă |
| Русский | диле́мма dilémma |
Talk about this word "conundrum." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/conundrum. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. conundrum. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/conundrum "conundrum." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/conundrum.Cite this
@misc{conundrum_2026,
title = {conundrum},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/conundrum},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
