enigma
/i'nigmə/
Definition
- Noun:
- A difficult problem: Something that is hard to solve or figure out.
- Something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained: A person, thing, or situation that is mysterious, puzzling, or inexplicable.
Examples of Usage
- Noun:
- The sudden disappearance of the ancient civilization remains an enigma to historians.
- She was a complete enigma to her colleagues; no one could predict her actions.
- The cause of the strange signal from deep space is a scientific enigma.
Advanced Usage
- "To be an enigma wrapped in a mystery": An expression, often used for emphasis, to describe something extremely puzzling or difficult to understand.
- The spy's true motives were an enigma wrapped in a mystery.
Variants and Related Words
- Enigmatic (adj): Mysterious and difficult to understand.
- He gave an enigmatic smile, leaving everyone wondering what he meant.
- Enigmatically (adv): In a mysterious or puzzling way.
- She smiled enigmatically and refused to answer.
Synonyms
- Mystery: Something that is not understood or is secret.
- Puzzle: A problem or toy designed to test ingenuity or knowledge.
- Riddle: A question or statement phrased to require clever thought to answer or understand.
- Conundrum: A confusing and difficult problem or question.
Idioms and Phrases
- An enigma code: Historically refers to a complex cipher, like the German Enigma machine used in WWII, but can be used metaphorically for any very complex code or puzzle.
- Breaking the company's financial records was like cracking an enigma code.
Noun
-
a difficult problem
-
something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
-
how it got out is a mystery
-
it remains one of nature's secrets
-
Khám phá thêm
Các từ liên quan
Từ đồng nghĩa
Từ gần giống
Từ chứa "enigma"
