enigma

n.

1. One that is puzzling, ambiguous, or inexplicable.
2. A perplexing speech or text; a riddle.

[Latin aenigma, from Greek ainigma, from ainissesthai, ainig-, to speak in riddles, from ainos, fable.]

noun

Anything that arouses curiosity or perplexes because it is unexplained, inexplicable, or secret: conundrum, mystery, perplexity, puzzle, puzzler, riddle. See show/hide.

IN BRIEF: Something that is puzzling.

No power of genius has ever yet had the smallest success in explaining existence. The perfect enigma remains. — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882).

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
  Synonyms: mystery, secret, closed book

Meaning #2: a difficult problem
  Synonyms: riddle, conundrum, brain-teaser

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - gåde, mysterium, paradoks

Nederlands (Dutch)
mysterie, enigma, onduidelijk spraakgebruik, mysterieus persoon

Français (French)
n. - énigme

Deutsch (German)
n. - Rätsel

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - αίνιγμα, γρίφος

Italiano (Italian)
enigma

Português (Portuguese)
n. - enigma (m)

Русский (Russian)
загадка

Español (Spanish)
n. - enigma, misterio, acertijo

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - gåta, mysterium

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
谜, 不可思议的东西

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 謎, 不可思議的東西

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 수수께끼

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 謎, なぞの人, 謎の人物

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) شخص غامض, لغز‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮חידה, תעלומה‬

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enigma