enigma
[ uh-nig-muh ]
/ əˈnɪg mə /
noun, plural e·nig·mas; Chiefly Archaic e·nig·ma·ta [uh-nig-muh-tuh] /əˈnɪg mə tə/.
a puzzling or inexplicable occurrence or situation: His disappearance is an enigma that has given rise to much speculation.
a person of puzzling or contradictory character: To me he has always been an enigma, one minute completely insensitive, the next moved to tears.
a saying, question, picture, etc., containing a hidden meaning; riddle.
(initial capital letter) a German-built enciphering machine developed for commercial use in the early 1920s and later adapted and appropriated by German and other Axis powers for military use through World War II.
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RELATED WORDS
conundrum, puzzle, riddle, mystification, perplexity, stickler, question, secret, cliffhanger, twister, puzzlement, cryptogram, parable, crux, puzzler, knot, why, bewilderment, problem, stumper
Nearby words
- enharmonic,
- enharmonic modulation,
- enhearten,
- eniac,
- enid,
- enigmatic,
- enigmatize,
- enisle,
- eniwetok,
- enjambment
Origin of enigma
1530–40; < Latin aenigma < Greek aínigma, equivalent to ainik- (stem of ainíssesthai to speak in riddles, derivative of aînos fable) + -ma noun suffix of result
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for enigma
enigma
/ (ɪˈnɪɡmə) /
noun
a person, thing, or situation that is mysterious, puzzling, or ambiguous
Word Origin for enigma
C16: from Latin aenigma, from Greek ainigma, from ainissesthai to speak in riddles, from ainos fable, story
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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enigma
1580s, earlier enigmate (mid-15c.), from Latin aenigma "riddle," from Greek ainigma (plural ainigmata), from ainissesthai "speak obscurely, speak in riddles," from ainos "fable, riddle," of unknown origin.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper