enigma
noun, plural e·nig·mas; Chiefly Archaic e·nig·ma·ta [uh-nig-muh-tuh]. /əˈnɪg mə tə/.
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Origin of enigma
synonym study for enigma
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BASIC DEFINITION OF ENIGMA
What does enigma mean?
An enigma is someone or something that’s puzzling, mysterious, or difficult to make sense of.
The word enigma can also mean a riddle, but it’s more often used to refer to something that’s so perplexing that it seems like a riddle (and perhaps was intended to seem like one), as in That book is an enigma—I have no idea what it’s really about.
If you call a person an enigma, you mean that they’re hard to figure out—the reasons behind what they say and do are not easily understood. Some people try to be enigmas to be mysterious.
The adjective enigmatic can be used to describe someone or something that’s puzzling or mysterious.
Example: I’ve known him for years, but he’s still a total enigma to me—I have no idea what his interests are or what he’s really like.
Where does enigma come from?
The first records of the word enigma come from the 1500s. It comes from the Greek ainíssesthai, meaning “to speak in riddles,” from ainos, meaning “fable” or “story.”
A much more specific use of the word is as the name of a ciphering machine used by the German military during World War II. A precursor to computer encryption, the Enigma machine was used to encode messages into a seemingly random string of letters to be decoded by another Enigma machine set up the same way. The deciphering of the Enigma code by Alan Turing and a team of codebreakers allowed the Allies to secretly read intercepted German messages and is thought to be a major factor in the Allied victory.
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What are some other forms related to enigma?
- enigmatic (adjective)
What are some synonyms for enigma?
What are some words that share a root or word element with enigma?
What are some words that often get used in discussing enigma?
How is enigma used in real life?
When a situation or problem is called an enigma, it’s one that’s confusing or difficult to understand, like a riddle. When a person is called an enigma, it usually means that they’re hard to know.
Human history is quite an enigma. We know so little, and much of what we think we know seems to be highly questionable.
— occultbot (@occultb0t) June 11, 2020
Diego Costa is an enigma. Looks 50, acts 15, is actually 26.
— Futhead (@Futhead) September 19, 2015
Mastering a #CV can be quite an enigma & these are some mistakes you're probably making! #jobhunting #career #advice https://t.co/MFjnGHZdbC pic.twitter.com/3bdJ95uASn
— James Caan CBE (@jamescaan) October 17, 2016
Try using enigma!
Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of enigma?
A. cipher
B. answer
C. puzzle
D. riddle