enigma
/ɪˈnɪɡmə/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.24 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A style of literature characterized by obscurity and hints of transcendental meaning.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "I was, and still am, an enigma to myself."
- "At the heart of all things there is to be found a certain coincidentia oppositorum; and herein, as I have said, lies the key to our problem: the enigma of indeterminism. The astounding fact is that freedom and necessity can coexist;"
- "Tucked inconspicuously away behind the shoal of darkness that hung in those gloomy corners, the silhouetted enigma was ogling him in halcyon silence."
- "But as he came to know this work during his last months, he also came to a profound understanding of the many enigmas that create a deeply satisfying life."
- "The enigma that is central to homeopathic medicine has to do with the relationship between dilution and potency."
- "The 'Real' Borges is difficult to pin down; in a word, he is an enigma."
Etymology
From Latin aenigma (“riddle”), being derived itself from the Ancient Greek verbal noun αἴνιγμα (aínigma, “dark saying, speaking in riddles”).
Origin
- Source language: Latin