Word: enigma (noun)

Associations

"Enigma" means something or someone that is mysterious, puzzling, or hard to understand.

• "The disappearance of the plane remains an enigma." This means the disappearance is a mystery.
• "Her behavior is an enigma to me." This means you cannot easily understand her behavior.
• "The ancient script is an enigma to historians." This means the script is difficult to decode or understand.

A synonym is "mystery," but "enigma" often suggests something more complex or puzzling, not just unknown. "Mystery" can be more general, while "enigma" implies a deeper level of difficulty or secrecy.

Substitution

You can use:

• mystery (less formal, more general)
• puzzle (focuses on something to solve)
• riddle (often a question or problem to figure out) Using "mystery" instead of "enigma" makes it simpler; using "puzzle" or "riddle" adds the idea of needing to solve it.

Deconstruction

The word "enigma" comes from Greek "ainigma," meaning "riddle" or "obscure speech."

• No prefix or suffix here; the whole word means a puzzle or something hard to understand. It entered English in the 16th century and keeps the idea of something secret or puzzling.

Inquiry

• Can you think of a person you know who is an enigma because you don’t understand their thoughts or actions?
• Have you ever faced a problem or question that felt like an enigma because it was very hard to solve?
• How would you explain the difference between a mystery and an enigma to a friend?