HomeServicesBlogDictionariesContactSpanish Course
Home › Dictionary › English › Pandora's box
Back to search

Pandora's box

Noun CEFR B2

Definitions

  1. A box given to Pandora by Zeus, whose instructions stated that it must not be opened, and were then ignored, leading to disastrous consequences.
    Greek
  2. A source of unforeseen trouble.
    idiomatic

Equivalents

13 more languages

Examples

“There was an evil in Pandora's box Beyond all other ones, yet it came forth In guise so lovely, that men crowded round And sought it as the dearest of all treasure.”
“The first thing it did was to spawn a whole Pandora's box of DNA viruses—smallpox, influenza and so on.”

CEFR level

B2
Upper Intermediate
This word is part of the CEFR B2 vocabulary — upper intermediate level.
See all B2 English words →

See also

Pandora's jar pandoravirus pandore pandorid pandoro pandour

Learn this word in context

See Pandora's box used in real conversations inside our free language course.

Start Free Course

Know this word better than we do? Language is a living thing — help us keep it growing. Collaborate with Babel Free