Associations to the word «Enigma»

Wiktionary

ENIGMA, noun. Something or someone puzzling, mysterious or inexplicable.
ENIGMA, noun. A riddle, or a difficult problem.
ENIGMA, proper noun. A German device used during World War II to encode strategic messages
ENIGMA MACHINE, proper noun. A small portable electro-mechanical rotor machine used to encrypt and decrypt secret messages, made famous by Germany in WWII
ENIGMA MACHINE, proper noun. Fig. something which decrypts or makes understandable something enigmatic (see quotation)

Dictionary definition

ENIGMA, noun. Something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained; "how it got out is a mystery"; "it remains one of nature's secrets".
ENIGMA, noun. A difficult problem.

Wise words

We should have a great fewer disputes in the world if words were taken for what they are, the signs of our ideas only, and not for things themselves.
John Locke