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sphinx

The correct spelling is sphinx.

How to pronounce sphinx

/sfɪŋks/
noun

IPA: /sfɪŋks/

Say it like: Sfi-nx

The correct spelling is sphinx. A creature with the head of a person and the body of an animal (commonly a lion). For example: "a marble sphinxed chimney-piece"

Usage Examples

a marble sphinxed chimney-piece

A hot lion with a very bloated stomach ... will adopt either a sphinxed or a squatting posture which takes some of the weight off its belly.

(1900) The sphinxèd riddle of the Universe / Nature's unsolved enigma, who may prove?

Meanings

noun

  1. 1.A creature with the head of a person and the body of an animal (commonly a lion).
  2. 2.A person who keeps his/her thoughts and intentions secret; an enigmatic person.
  3. 3.A mandrill, Mandrillus sphinx, formerly classified a baboon, and called sphinx baboon.
  4. 4.A sphinx moth.
  5. 5.A sphincter.

verb

  1. 1.To decorate with sphinxes
  2. 2.To adopt the posture of the Sphinx.
  3. 3.To be inscrutable, often through silence
  4. 4.To make one guess at the unknowable
  5. 5.To befuddle

Similar words

Words related in meaning — check their spelling too.

View synonyms & usage examples