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APG.American
Pronunciation Guide
HOW TO PRONOUNCE

sphinx

/sfɪŋks/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:33
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What does sphinx mean?

noun

  1. A creature with the head of a person and the body of an animal, commonly a lion.
  2. (figuratively) A person who keeps their thoughts and intentions secret; an enigmatic or impassive person.
  3. A sphinx moth.
More meanings (9)

verb

  1. To decorate with sphinxes.
  2. To adopt the posture of the Sphinx.
  3. To be inscrutable, often through silence.
  4. To behave in a manner characteristic of the Sphinx.

noun

  1. Alternative letter-case form of sphinx (“a sculpture representing the Theban Sphinx”)
  2. (dated) A mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx), formerly classified as a baboon, and called sphinx baboon.
  3. (rare) A sphincter.

proper noun

  1. An ancient, large statue in Egypt, with the face of a man and the body of a lion, lying near the Great Pyramids.
  2. One of the many offspring of Typhon and Echidna, a winged lion-like creature with a woman's face, who dwelt near the city of Thebes in Boeotia and terrorized travelers by posing riddles, killing those who failed to answer correctly; after Oedipus solved her riddle, she committed suicide out of frustration.
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Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/sfɪŋks/

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary ↗

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

In its earliest representations, the Sphinx is figured with the head of a woman and the body of a lion.
Eliza Burt GambleThe God-Idea of the Ancients; Or, Sex in ReligionProject Gutenberg ebook #639
All the monster sphinx, half human, half animal, etc., which the ancients have preserved, are simply records of the past.
Thomas H. Burgoyne; Belle M. WagnerThe Light of Egypt; Or, The Science of the Soul and the Stars — Volume 2Project Gutenberg ebook #1650
More book examples (3)
And that sphinx had the pale face and shining eyes of the very Natásha of whom he had just been thinking.
Leo, graf TolstoyWar and PeaceTranslated by Aylmer Maude; Louise MaudeProject Gutenberg ebook #2600
A kind of eternal look about her, as if she were a wistful sphinx, made it necessary for him to kiss her.
D. H. (David Herbert) LawrenceSons and LoversProject Gutenberg ebook #217
They are but the expression of that wonderful brain and dominant personality that lie behind that sphinx- like face we know as Brookes'.
William T. (William Tatem) TildenThe Art of Lawn TennisProject Gutenberg ebook #1451