Conundrum definition

kə-nŭndrəm

Words form:

Frequency:

A paradoxical, insoluble, or difficult problem; a dilemma.

noun

Any puzzling question or problem.

noun

A riddle whose answer contains a pun (Ex.: What's the difference between a jeweler and a jailer? One sells watches and the other watches cells.)

noun

A difficult question or riddle, especially one using a play on words in the answer.

noun

A difficult choice or decision that must be made.

noun

The definition of conundrum is a situation where there is no clear right answer or no good solution.

An example of a conundrum is a challenging riddle to which you can't figure out the answer.

noun

A riddle in which a fanciful question is answered by a pun.

noun

Other Word Forms

Singular:

conundrum

Plural:

conundra, conundrums

Origin unknown

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
A word of unknown origin, probably coined in burlesque imitation of scholastic Latin, as "hocus-pocus" or "panjandrum".

From Wiktionary