Membean is an incredibly effective way to learn words and permanently remember them.
Learn more on how we help for
Test Prep,
Personal Learning,
or get it for your
School.
When you abash someone, you make them feel uncomfortable, ashamed, embarrassed, or inferior.
If someone is addled by something, they are confused by it and unable to think properly.
When you ascertain the truth of something, you determine or find it out for sure.
If something bewilders you, you are very confused or puzzled by it.
If you describe a system or process as byzantine, it means that you are criticizing it because it is excessively complicated and difficult to understand.
If something confounds you, it makes you feel surprised and confused, often because it does not meet your predefined expectations.
To confute an argument is to prove it to be thoroughly false; to confute a person is to prove them to be wrong.
Something convoluted, such as a difficult concept or procedure, is complex and takes many twists and turns.
When you decipher a message or piece of writing, you work out what it says, even though it is very difficult to read or understand.
If something discomfits you, it makes you feel embarrassed, confused, uncomfortable, or frustrated.
If something disconcerts you, it makes you feel anxious, worried, or confused.
When you disentangle a knot or a problem, you untie the knot or get yourself out of the problem.
When someone feels disquiet about a situation, they feel very worried or nervous.
If you elucidate something, you make it easier to understand by giving more relevant information.
If a fact or idea eludes you, you cannot remember or understand it; if you elude someone, you manage to escape or hide from them.
Someone or something that is enigmatic is mysterious and difficult to understand.
If you fathom something complicated or mysterious, you are able to understand it.
A garbled message or speech is confusing and not understandable, often because it is spoken in a hurry or is communicated with lots of accompanying noise.
A gossamer material is very thin, light, and delicate.
If an idea or thought is incisive, it is expressed in a penetrating and knowledgeable manner that is clear and brief; additionally, it can demonstrate impressive understanding of related ideas or thoughts.
Something inscrutable is very hard to figure out, discover, or understand what it is all about.
If you describe a situation or process as labyrinthine, you mean that it is very complicated, involved, and difficult to understand.
Limpid speech or prose is clear, simple, and easily understood; things, such as pools of water or eyes, are limpid if they are clear or transparent.
If someone is lucid, they are able to understand things and think clearly; this adjective also describes writing or speech that is crystal clear and easy to understand.
When something is luminous, it is bright and glowing.
If you are nonplussed, you are so surprised and confused that you are not sure what to do or say.
Something is opaque if it is either difficult to understand or is not transparent.
A paradox is a statement that appears to be self-contradictory or unrealistic but may surprisingly express a possible truth.
Something that is pellucid is either extremely clear because it is transparent to the eye or it is very easy for the mind to understand.
Someone who demonstrates perspicacity notices or understands things very quickly.
A revelation is the uncovering or telling of once-secret information that is often surprising or valuable.
To be unfazed is to not be affected by something that happens to you, even if it is quite embarrassing or bothersome.
Noun
conundrum
kuh-NUHN-druhm
Context
When I found the old book filled with the unreadable code, it presented quite the conundrum or puzzle. I just couldn’t figure out the unknown and impenetrable language—it was quite the challenging conundrum. Only after five years of trying to understand this nearly impossible conundrum did I finally solve its riddle.
Quiz:Try again!
What is a conundrum?
A puzzle or mystery that people have great difficulty finding a solution to.
A huge challenge in the professional realm that nevertheless offers great reward.
A task that requires a collaborative effort from many people.
Nun's Convent Drum How can a nun have a drum in the convent when she is supposed to be quiet and praying all day? The conundrum of the nun's convent drum shall have to be solved by the abbess herself, who had declared that "none" have drums!
Examples
It’s an environmental conundrum: As states try to meet their clean-energy goals, must endangered species pay a price?
—
The Christian Science Monitor
The controversy over Puerto Los Cabos points to an eternal conundrum in this region: how to accommodate legions of tourists whose dollars are essential to the local economy without destroying the natural beauty that draws them.
—
Los Angeles Times
Greenspan, in testimony before a Senate committee on Feb. 16, 2005, observed an anomaly in the economic figures: "For the moment, the broadly unanticipated behavior of world bond markets remains a conundrum."
—
The New York Times
Word Ingredients
No ingredients are given for this word because its origin is either uncertain or unknown, a designation which is perfectly suitable for this word!
Word Theater
Cold Mountain Inman faces a tricky conundrum.
The panel shows a small video clip of either the word in actual use or a scene that represents the meaning of a word. This not only breaks up the monotony of studying words but also provides another avenue to strengthen word meaning. Enjoy!
