conundrum

/kəˈnʌndrəm/ (bre, ipa) · /kəˈnʌndrəm/ (ame, ipa) · /kə-ˈnən-drəm/ (ame, mw)

conundrum — noun

  • conundrumsingular
  • conundrumsplural

1. a difficult issue or question that has no clear or easy answer

1.名詞B2
釋義

a difficult issue or question that has no clear or easy answer

例句

The conundrum of balancing work and family time troubles many young parents.

conundrum of + gerund phrase

When Camila's two best friends had a fight, she faced a social conundrum.

face a conundrum

同義詞
  • dilemma

    focuses on a choice between two equally bad options

  • puzzle

    a problem designed to test thinking, often with a known solution

  • enigma

    something mysterious and hard to understand, especially a person or situation

反義詞
  • solution

    an answer or way of fixing a problem

  • clarity

    the quality of being easy to understand

文法句型

conundrum of + noun/gerund

face / pose a conundrum

用法筆記

Often describes problems in ethics, politics, science, or personal decisions where every choice has drawbacks.

常見錯誤

❌I have a conundrum with my phone battery.
✅I have a problem with my phone battery.
💡Conundrum implies a complex or puzzling issue, not a simple technical fault.
❌The exam had many conundrums.
✅The exam had many difficult questions.
💡Conundrum suggests a confusing real-world puzzle, not a test item with a single correct answer.

2. a humorous riddle or question whose answer involves a play on words with two or

2.名詞C1
釋義

a humorous riddle or question whose answer involves a play on words with two or more meanings

例句

At the party, Jia told a clever conundrum about a man who enters a library.

tell a conundrum

The teacher asked the class a conundrum: 'What has keys but cannot open locks?'

conundrum with pun / play on words

同義詞
  • riddle

    a question or phrase with a hidden meaning, made for fun

  • pun

    a joke using a word that has two meanings or sounds like another word

  • wordplay

    clever or humorous use of words with multiple meanings

文法句型

tell a conundrum

solve a conundrum

用法筆記

Considered somewhat old-fashioned; the 'difficult problem' sense (sense 1) is far more common in modern English.

常見錯誤

❌She told me a conundrum that two plus two is five.
✅She told me a conundrum: Why did the man put his money in the freezer? For cold hard cash!
💡A conundrum must involve wordplay or a pun, not just a false statement.