Sphinxlike
adj ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Like a sphinx, or like that of a sphinx, especially, not showing passion or emotion; inscrutable.
"What about Mrs. Cavendish? I watched her as she sat at the head of the table, graceful, composed, enigmatic. In her soft grey frock, with white ruffles at the wrists falling over her slender hands, she looked very beautiful. When she chose, however, her face could be sphinx-like in its inscrutability."
- 2 Mysterious; scheming; having a deceptive outward appearance.
"Mrs. Mallowe smiled in a superior and Sphinx-like fashion."
Example
More examples"What about Mrs. Cavendish? I watched her as she sat at the head of the table, graceful, composed, enigmatic. In her soft grey frock, with white ruffles at the wrists falling over her slender hands, she looked very beautiful. When she chose, however, her face could be sphinx-like in its inscrutability."
Etymology
From sphinx + -like.
More for "sphinxlike"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.