Trivia Time

Edward Nigma (E. Nigma, or enigma) is the alter ego of which comic book supervillain?

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enigma

American  

[uh-nig-muh] / əˈnɪg mə /

noun

plural

enigmas,

plural

enigmata

1. a puzzling or inexplicable occurrence or situation.

   His disappearance is an enigma that has given rise to much speculation.

   Synonyms:

   problem

2. a person of puzzling or contradictory character.

   To me he has always been an enigma, one minute completely insensitive, the next moved to tears.

3. a saying, question, picture, etc., containing a hidden meaning; riddle.

4. (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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enigma British  

/ ˌɛnɪɡˈmætɪk, ɪˈnɪɡmə /

noun

1. a person, thing, or situation that is mysterious, puzzling, or ambiguous

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Usage

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.

Related Words

See puzzle.

Other Word Forms

• enigmatic
  adjective
• enigmatically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of enigma

First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin aenigma, from Greek aínigma, equivalent to ainik- (stem of ainíssesthai “to speak in riddles,” derivative of aînos fable) + -ma noun suffix of result

Explanation

Use the noun enigma to refer to something that is a puzzle or a mystery. Why do you have to learn difficult words like this? That is an enigma. Traveling to English from Greek by means of the Latin word for "riddle," enigma refers to something or someone that is mysterious, puzzling, or difficult to figure out. Many things have been named Enigma, including a rock band, a video game, a rollercoaster ride, and a very famous coding machine used in World War II.

Example Sentences

I have now spoken to more patients and doctors about why this condition remains such an enigma.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

Most of my book is devoted to trying to sort out this political enigma, and how the movement and its consequences might be understood.

From Salon • Mar. 28, 2026

But she said the film, which goes on global release on Friday and will later be shown exclusively on Amazon Prime, would give people a look behind the enigma.

From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026

People guessed on the color of her eyes and hair; some supposed that the enigma behind the column inches was a man.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 27, 2026

He was away in a mystery, locked in the enigma that young Southern Black boys start to unravel, start to try to unravel, from seven years old to death.

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou

Related Words

• conundrum
• puzzle