🦁 Like a sphinx 🕵️ Mysterious

sphinxlike

9.5

Calm and showing no feelings so you cannot know thoughts

adjective
/ˈsfɪŋksˌlaɪk/

: enigmático

Her sphinxlike smile left everyone guessing about what she really meant.

Examples

The detective noticed his partner was being rather sphinxlike, giving no hints about his thoughts on the case.
A pair of tall English, wrapped to the eyes, sat on their luggage with looks of sphinxlike inscrutability.

Fiction book (1993)
Despite his sphinxlike comments, the audience was intrigued by the mystery he presented.

Synonyms

mysterious

vssphinxlike

498 5.1

Hard to understand or explain because it seems strange

is more specifically tied to a riddle statue image than to general unknown

enigmatic

vssphinxlike

27 8.1

Hard to understand and often seems mysterious

is more tied to a famous riddle statue image than plain puzzlement

Delphic

vssphinxlike

Formal

1 9.9

Hard to understand because it is mysterious and sounds like it predicts the future

is less deliberately obscure and more naturally puzzling

enigmatical

vssphinxlike

1 9.3

Hard to understand, like a puzzle

is more neutral in tone rather than formal wording

Sphinxian

vssphinxlike

Literature

9.9

Having a calm face that hides what someone thinks

is more general mystery rather than statue-like unreadability

sphingine

vssphinxlike

Literature

9.9

Being very mysterious and hard to understand

is general mystery not a riddle-like reserved presence

cryptical

vssphinxlike

Archaic

9.9

Hard to understand because it has a hidden meaning

is a general puzzling mystery rather than a secret code

sibylline

vssphinxlike

Literature

9.9

Mysterious and hard to understand, like a prophecy

is regular puzzling mystery not specifically prophetic or oracular

orphic

vssphinxlike

Literature

9.9

Mysterious and hard to understand, often about deep spiritual ideas

is ordinary puzzling mystery rather than occult or mystical sense

Antonyms

clear

∞ 1.0

Easy to understand and not confusing

obvious

∞ 1.0

Easy to see or understand

How Mysterious

inscrutable

12 8.9

sphinxlike

9.5

enigmatic

27 8.1

mysterious

498 5.1

puzzling

42 4.6

Surface Forms

sphinxlike positive

Morphology

sphinxlike = sphinx (semi-transparent) = sphinx + like

The meaning 'mysterious, enigmatic' is a metaphorical extension from the sphinx's reputed inscrutability, so it is inferable but not strictly literal.

Etymology

Sphinxlike comes from the Sphinx, famous for its silent face and for asking riddles so people could not guess what it meant. That's why sphinxlike describes someone or something that is 'mysterious' or hard to understand.