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/ɪnˈɪgmə/ Listen

noun

enigma n. (pl. enigmas)

A dark, obscure, or inexplicable saying; a riddle; a statement, the hidden meaning of which is to be discovered or guessed. "A custom was among the ancients of proposing an enigma at festivals."

An action, mode of action, or thing, which cannot be satisfactorily explained; a puzzle; as, his conduct is an enigma.

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Etymology of 'Enigma'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Enigma" Quotes from Famous Books

... too, Palla?" she asked. "Turn around, little enigma! There; I can look into those brown eyes now. And I see nothing in them ...

— The Crimson Tide • Robert W. Chambers

... seamed with the smallpox, and in every seam the dust and smoke of London had left a stain. She had a troubled eye, and a gaze that seemed to ask of the universe why it had given birth to her. But it was only her face that asked the question; her mind was too busy with the ever recurring enigma, which, answered this week, was still an enigma for the next—how she was to pay her rent—too busy to have any other question to ask. Or would she not rather have gone to sleep altogether, under ...

— The Marquis of Lossie • George MacDonald

... certain fruit-salts and pills. Age when not known is guessed by the length of the beard, which is never allowed to grow till the thirty-second year. Now it happens that I am clean-shaven, and, as it is a well-known fact that the face of the European is an enigma to the Oriental, just as the face of the Chinaman is an inscrutable mystery to most of us, I have often been amused by the varying estimates of my age advanced by curious bystanders. It has been estimated as low as twelve—"look ...

— An Australian in China - Being the Narrative of a Quiet Journey Across China to Burma • George Ernest Morrison

... understand, but in turning to care for her brother she ceased to puzzle over the enigma. Shortly afterwards the patient closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep. Immediately the girl led the way on tiptoe from the room. She locked the door behind her and preceded ...

— The Seventh Noon • Frederick Orin Bartlett

... an enigma," commenced the professor as he pointed his bony finger toward me, "and declare him to be the strangest problem of my life. How, and whence, and why he came to us are all alike shrouded in ...

— Life in a Thousand Worlds • William Shuler Harris

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