Sphinxian

9.9

Having a calm face that hides what someone thinks

adjective
/ˈsfɪŋkʃən/

Literature

: esfinge

Her Sphinxian expression made it impossible to guess what she was thinking.

Examples

The diplomat remained Sphinxian throughout the negotiations, revealing nothing.
With a Sphinxian calm, he listened to the accusations without reacting.
Her smile was Sphinxian, leaving everyone guessing.
The Sphinxian riddles puzzled the audience.
Her Sphinxian smile kept everyone wondering about her true feelings.
The artist is famous for his Sphinxian paintings that challenge viewers to interpret their meaning.
His Sphinxian demeanor made it difficult for others to understand his intentions.

Synonyms

enigmatic

vsSphinxian

27 8.1

Hard to understand and often seems mysterious

is about being mysterious or unreadable rather than just unclear

Delphic

vsSphinxian

Formal

1 9.9

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

is simply mysterious or unreadable, not necessarily intentionally obscure

enigmatical

vsSphinxian

1 9.3

Hard to understand, like a puzzle

is more about an unreadable manner or relation to that image

sphinxlike

vsSphinxian

9.5

Calm and showing no feelings so you cannot know thoughts

is similar but also refers to relating to that statue figure

sphingine

vsSphinxian

Literature

9.9

Being very mysterious and hard to understand

is the broader term covering mysterious manner and relation to that creature

How Mysterious

inscrutable

12 8.9

Sphinxian

Literature

9.9

enigmatic

27 8.1

mysterious

498 5.1

puzzling

42 4.6

Surface Forms

Sphinxian positive

Morphology

Sphinxian = sphinx (transparent) = sphinx + ian

Formed by the clear adjectival suffix '-ian' meaning 'of or relating to the sphinx,' so the sense 'mysterious; relating to the sphinx' follows directly.

Etymology

Sphinxian comes from the Sphinx, the famous creature in old stories that asked riddles and kept a silent, unreadable face, and the ending -ian which means 'related to'. So calling someone Sphinxian says they are 'mysterious' or hard to read, just like the Sphinx.