ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Enigma

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /ɪˈnɪɡmə/ · Part of speech noun

Quick meaning: Enigma is a noun meaning Something or someone puzzling, mysterious or inexplicable.

Meaning

Something or someone puzzling, mysterious or inexplicable.

More Meanings

  1. A riddle, or a difficult problem.
  2. Riddles and puzzles, collectively.
  3. Mysteriousness; obscurity; a lack of clarity.
  4. A style of literature characterized by obscurity and hints of transcendental meaning.
  5. The Talaud kingfisher, Todiramphus enigma.
  6. A protein with three LIM domains (a conserved cysteine- and histidine-rich structure of two adjacent zinc fingers) at the C terminus that regulates protein phosphorylation.
  7. Alternative letter-case form of Enigma.

Example Sentences

I was, and still am, an enigma to myself.
Some enigma, some riddle: come, thy l'envoy, begin.
The 'Real' Borges is difficult to pin down; in a word, he is an enigma.
The enigma that is central to homeopathic medicine has to do with the relationship between dilution and potency.

Word Forms

Synonyms for enigma

Depending on context, synonyms include conundrum, secret, mystery, closed book, brain-teaser, riddle.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include riddle, brain-teaser, conundrum, mystery, closed book, secret.

Related Dictionary Tools

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.