Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use enigma in a sentence

40 example sentences · noun

Enigma means something or someone puzzling, mysterious or inexplicable. Example: “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.”

Examples of enigma by meaning

nounSomething or someone puzzling, mysterious or inexplicable.

  • 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.1995, Wolfgang Smith, The Quantum Enigma: Finding the Hidden Key, page 92
  • Tucked inconspicuously away behind the shoal of darkness that hung in those gloomy corners, the silhouetted enigma was ogling him in halcyon silence.2007, Ramon Elmerito Gatchalian, A Supernatural Threat, page 9
  • 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.2007, Fernando Arrojo Ramos, Enigmas

nounA riddle, or a difficult problem.

  • Logic sorts the information in an enigma, logic determines that something is odd about this information, and logic draws inferences from an enigma's words; but logic cannot produce ideas.2005, Jenny Ledeen, Prophecy in the Christian Era, page 165
  • The other solution to the central enigma of wormhold physics is to simply discard Thales' doctrine.2010, Enrico Rodrigo, The Physics of Stargates, page 323
  • The function of polyphenol oxidase in plants is an enigma because, although it is localized in the plastid, most of the phenolic compounds are in the vacuole, a cellular location not juxtaposed to the plastid.2013, Tilak Nagodawithana, Gerald Reed, Enzymes in Food Processing, page 222

nounRiddles and puzzles, collectively.

  • From the beginning, readers of The Enigma of Arrival are likely to feel surrounded by enigma and puzzle.2000, Harish Trivedi, Richard Allen, Literature and Nation, page 147
  • These examples show that two processes are tested in enigma - logic and intuition.2005, Jenny Ledeen, Prophecy in the Christian Era, page 165
  • He had even less interest in enigma.2010, Ward Just, Exiles in the Garden, page 162

nounMysteriousness; obscurity; a lack of clarity.

  • In those halcyon days I believed that the source of enigma was stupidity .1995, Ian Ward ·, Law and Literature: Possibilities and Perspectives, page 203
  • The circumstances under which the band is obtained and the strange story that it tells are wrapped in enigma that challenges the hermeneutic powers of the reader .1998 ·, Richard L. Hunter, Studies in Heliodorus, page 80
  • All this will put us in a position to better understand how Heaviside emerged from obscurity only to remain shrouded in enigma.2011, Ido Yavetz, From Obscurity to Enigma, page 184

nounA style of literature characterized by obscurity and hints of transcendental meaning.

  • Both take an interest in enigma.2006, Eleanor Cook, Enigmas and Riddles in Literature, page 53
  • The interpretive effort elicited by enigma approaches an instant of transcendent understanding that has the force of revelation, yet without ever fully or permanently reaching it.2017, Curtis A. Gruenler, Piers Plowman and the Poetics of Enigma

nounA protein with three LIM domains (a conserved cysteine- and histidine-rich structure of two adjacent zinc fingers) at...

  • Yeast two-hybrid screening revealed that enigma binds to the insulin receptor (InsR) internalization motif.2007, Shiro Iuchi, Natalie Kuldell, Zinc Finger Proteins: From Atomic Contact to Cellular Function, page 101
  • Enigma is a predominantly cytoplasmic protein that contains one PDZ domain at its N terminus and three LIM domains at its C terminus.2012, Anthony J. Pawson, Protein Modules in Signal Transduction, page 86

nounThe Talaud kingfisher, Todiramphus enigma.

  • As noted by Fry (1980), if both forms were shown to be resident and breeding on Talaud, enigma must be accorded specific status.1997, Jon Riley, Biological Surveys and Conservation Priorities on the Sangihe and Talaud Islands, Indonesia
  • No conclusive proof of breeding by enigma was obtained, but during late September and October 1995, birds were paired and holding territory in central Karakelang.1998, Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club - Volumes 118-119, page 116
  • The Talaud population enigma may be a race of H. chloris ( Eck 1978 ) or a distinct species ( White & Bruce 1986 ).2001, Ernst Mayr, Jared Diamond, The Birds of Northern Melanesia, page 386

nounAny member of the species Oedaleonotus enigma of grasshoppers.

  • The principal species involved were the migratory grasshopper, Melanoplus sanguinipes (Fab.); the Packard grasshopper, Melanoplus packardii Scudd.; the clearwinged grasshopper, Camnula pellucida (Scudd.); and the Enigma Oedaleonotus enigma Scudd.1972, United States. Forest Service, Forest Insect Conditions in the United States, page 13

More sentences with enigma

  • Her name is Luca Syara, but beyond that, she’s an enigma.2019 November, Jeremy Crawford, James Wyatt, Keith Baker, “Northedge”, in Eberron: Rising from the Last War (Dungeons & Dragons), Renton…. From the entry Luca
  • The syndrome is often moderated by other Australian characteristics, and reinforces the enigma of Australian leadership.2007, Neal M. Ashkanasy, “9: The Australian Enigma”, in Jagdeep Singh Chhokar, Robert J. House, Felix C. Brodbeck, editors, Culture and…. From the entry tall poppy syndrome
  • She smiled, an enigma in the wavering light of our candleshade.1987, Donald Stanwood, The Seventh Royale: A Novel. From the entry candleshade
  • Let us admit that the Platonic dialogue is an enigma—something perplexing and to be wondered at.1964, Leo Strauss, “On Plato’s Republic”, in The City and Man, paperback edition, Chicago, Ill.; London: University of Chicago Press…. From the entry question mark
  • "A love affair is an insatiable curiosity over an inscrutable enigma."1950, Norman Lindsay, Dust or Polish?, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 175. From the entry love affair
  • She was always to him a beautiful enigma, plaguing the mind, but full of fascination.1907, Mary E. Mann, The Sheep and the Goatsr, Methuen, page 233. From the entry otherworldliness
  • Armado said, “Here is some enigma, some riddle.2016, David Bruce, William Shakespeare’s “Love’s Labor’s Lost”: A Retelling in Prose, Lulu, →ISBN, page 57. From the entry l'envoi
  • Indeed, the aporia shall become pregravated with an new enigma.2013, B.G. Bergo, Levinas between Ethics and Politics, page 183. From the entry pregravate
  • Experiments looking at the barotolerances of protozoa isolated from macroaggregates from different depths may throw some light on this enigma.2013, P.C. Reid, Protozoa and Their Role in Marine Processes, page 323. From the entry barotolerance
  • In the scene below, the key enigma is the woman in the middle, who has pulled her clothing envelopingly around herself.2007, Oliver Taplin, Pots & Plays: Interactions Between Tragedy and Greek Vase-Painting of the Fourth Century B.C.. From the entry envelopingly
  • PATRICK: The inner machinations of my mind are an enigma.2001 September 7, Walt Dohrn, Paul Tibbitt, Merriwether Williams, “The Secret Box”, in SpongeBob SquarePants. From the entry machination
  • The real enigma is the honest, unsadistic German majority that unleashes them rather than throwing them in jail.1988, Michael Robert Marrus, The Holocaust in History, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 85, →ISBN. From the entry unsadistic
  • The condition known as trisomy 21 syndrome or mongolian idiocy (sometimes referred to as Down's syndrome) had long been an enigma.1965, H. Eldon Sutton, An introduction to human genetics. From the entry mongolian
  • Yes; I was wholeheartedly prepared to remarry an infinite times; but only with the profoundly intoxicating enigma; of my limitlessly enthusing wife; once again, O!2016, Nikhil Parekh, You die; I die - Love Poems. From the entry exultatingly
  • However, the people who live there remain to their transmanche neighbours an enigma wrapped up in Gauloise smoke, a tribe more mysterious than the Hottentots.2008 July 21, David Cox, “If these are the sticks, I'll take a forest”, in The Guardian. From the entry transmanche
  • Cold media work "semiurgically": that is to say, what is represented could have or acquire meaning, but is as yet an enigma.2004, Arjen Mulder, Understanding Media Theory: Language, Image, Sound, Behavior, →ISBN. From the entry semiurgically
  • There were associated spiritual, even paranormal, issues—taboo lines of inquiry shunned by modern science—that were too integrally bound up in the whole enigma for dismissal or avoidance.2016, Frank Joseph, Our Dolphin Ancestors: Keepers of Lost Knowledge and Healing Wisdom. From the entry delphinology
  • Hu is fond of enigmas, of conundrums, of hieroglyphics; exhibiting in hus solutions of each and all a degree of acumen which appears to the ordinary apprehension preternatural.2002 January 3, Bryan T. McMahon, quoting Sasha Newborn, “A terrible book”, in The Ponchatoula Times, page 7. From the entry hu
  • The internet, the authors say, affords the average mouse-potato the opportunity to experience a Naipaul-esque enigma of arrival in far-away lands without ever leaving the shores of Trinidad.2001 December 7, Aniruddho Sanyal, “The Trini Trinity Is Found On De Line”, in The Times Higher Education Supplement. From the entry mouse potato
  • And if you want my obiter dictum I should say the biggest thing in W.S. enigmas is waiting patiently there for some bright boy to come along and scoop it.1927, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], Max Carrados Mysteries. From the entry obiter dictum

Meaning of enigma

  1. noun Something or someone puzzling, mysterious or inexplicable.
  2. noun A riddle, or a difficult problem.
  3. noun Riddles and puzzles, collectively.

Full definition of enigma

Questions about enigma in a sentence

How do you use enigma in a sentence?
Enigma is used as a noun. For example: “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.”
What is a short sentence with enigma?
“Both take an interest in enigma.”
What does enigma mean?
Enigma means something or someone puzzling, mysterious or inexplicable.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: enigma (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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