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enigma

enigma

36 8.1
A person or thing that is mysterious and hard to understand
  • noun
  • /ɪˈnɪɡmə/
: enigma
  • The disappearance of the ancient civilization remains an enigma for historians.
  • remain an enigma
  • still an enigma
  • resolve the enigma

There's anomalies, there's tiny enigmas, there's little weird blips.

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Examples

  • Stephen is somewhat of an enigma and is content to wander through life without a real purpose.

    Academic text (1998)
  • I'm an enigma.

  • So that is still an enigma that is not explained.

  • It's, it's what you know, how do you, how do you start to stand back from your partner and see them as an enigma again?

  • The commercial sex industry remains an enigma within the developed world.

    Academic text (2012)
  • But life is an enigma.

  • Tim is an enigma, a man who holds his cards close to his best.

  • Miss Grange was something of an enigma for the summer guests.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Yet for all of this, one might say there is still a profound enigma surrounding Aristotle's political works.

  • But I don't want to spend the rest of my life chasing after an enigma.

Synonyms

mystery
vsenigma
∞ 4.7

Something that is hard to understand or explain

is similar but often used more generally for puzzling people or things
unknown
vsenigma
134 6.1

Something you do not know or cannot identify, for example a variable in math

adds a sense of puzzling quality rather than mere lack of knowledge
riddle
vsenigma
103 4.9

A difficult question or mystery that needs clever thought

covers broader puzzling or mysterious cases beyond solvable questions
conundrum
vsenigma
42 8.5

A confusing problem or question that is hard to solve

is not limited to problems and can mean mysterious people or things
5 7.7

Hidden and hard to understand because it is secret

focuses on puzzling nature rather than secrecy or hidden status
brain-teaser
vsenigma
4 6.5

A hard puzzle that needs careful thought to solve

is used for general mysterious or puzzling things, not just puzzles
riddle wrapped in an enigma
vsenigma
  • Informal
1 9.7

Something or someone that is very mysterious and hard to understand

is the general word for something puzzling or difficult to understand
closed book
vsenigma
  • Informal
1 7.4

Something that is hard to understand or know much about

is more general and can refer to objects as well as people
baffler
vsenigma
1 8.8

A person or thing that is hard to understand and confuses people

is broader, applying to any puzzling or mysterious case, not only confusing ones
1 8.9

A thing that people cannot understand or explain

is a less extreme label for things that are merely puzzling

Antonyms

181 3.0

How easy it is to understand what someone says or writes

36 1.7

Being easy to understand and not complicated

3 2.9

The quality of being easy to see or understand

Idioms

Something or someone that is very mysterious and hard to understand

Compounds

Enigma machine
  • Specialized
3 7.9

A machine used by Germany in World War II to send secret coded messages

enigma canon
  • Archaic
9.9

A musical puzzle that uses hidden signs to make the same tune begin again

How Mysterious

mystery
∞ 4.7
enigma
36 8.1
conundrum
42 8.5
riddle
103 4.9
puzzle
474 1.9

Surface Forms

enigma singular
enigmas plural

Etymology

The word enigma comes from the old Greek word ainigma, which meant 'riddle'. So, an enigma is something or someone mysterious and hard to understand.