enigma

Language: en

🇺🇸 /ɪˈnɪgmə/

📖 Definitions

  1. noun
    A person or thing that is mysterious, puzzling, or difficult to understand.; A riddle or a puzzling question, statement, or problem that requires ingenuity to solve.; A situation or event that is inexplicable or baffling in nature.; (Historical) The Enigma machine, an electromechanical cipher device used by Nazi Germany during World War II to encrypt military communications.; (Archaic) An obscure or ambiguous expression; a saying that conceals its meaning under a veil of allegory or metaphor.

🔗 Details

Word forms

countable Plural: enigmas, enigmata

Collocations

remain an enigmasomething of an enigmawrapped in enigmaan enigma to someonepose an enigma

Derivatives

enigmaticenigmatically

Synonyms

mysterypuzzleriddleconundrumparadoxpuzzlement

Commonly confused

enigmatic
EN: 'enigmatic' is the adjective form meaning mysterious or puzzling; 'enigma' is the noun referring to the mysterious thing or person itself.
anomaly
EN: 'anomaly' refers to a deviation from what is normal or expected; 'enigma' emphasizes something that is difficult to understand or explain.

Spelling tips

EN: Derived from Greek 'ainigma', so avoid the temptation to spell it 'aenigma'. The plural 'enigmata' is a rare classical form; 'enigmas' is standard in modern English.

💬 Examples

  1. She remained an enigma to everyone who knew her, never revealing her true feelings.

  2. The ancient inscription presented an enigma that scholars have struggled to decipher for centuries.

  3. The sudden disappearance of the ship in calm waters remains an enigma to this day.

  4. Alan Turing and his team at Bletchley Park successfully broke the Enigma code, which significantly shortened the war.

  5. The prophet spoke in enigmas, leaving his followers to ponder the hidden meaning of his words.