HOW TO PRONOUNCE
enigma
/ɪˈnɪɡmə/
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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:24
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Stress “nig” in the middle.
Start with a light vowel and give the second syllable the main beat. Keep both g and m audible as you move into the final uh, without adding a vowel between them.
3 syllables · Stress on syllable 2
TRY SAYING
“The missing letter remained an enigma.”
APG practice sentence · CC BY-SA 4.0
CMU Pronouncing Dictionary ↗What does enigma mean?
noun
- Something or someone puzzling, mysterious or inexplicable.
- A riddle, or a difficult problem.
- Riddles and puzzles, collectively.
More meanings (8)
noun
- Mysteriousness; obscurity; a lack of clarity.
- A style of literature characterized by obscurity and hints of transcendental meaning.
- Alternative letter-case form of Enigma.
- A protein with three LIM domains (a conserved cysteine- and histidine-rich structure of two adjacent zinc fingers) at the C terminus that regulates protein phosphorylation.
- The Talaud kingfisher, Todiramphus enigma.
- Any member of the species Oedaleonotus enigma of grasshoppers.
- Any member of the species Heliothis enigma of rare moths.
proper noun
- (historical) A German device used during World War II to encode strategic messages.
Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0
IPA pronunciation
/ɪˈnɪɡmə/
Pronunciation used in the listening tip.
CMU Pronouncing Dictionary ↗Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.
In the pages of books
See this word in context.
Pearl’s inevitable tendency to hover about the enigma of the scarlet letter seemed an innate quality of her being.
But my mind had been running on Grace Poole—that living enigma, that mystery of mysteries, as I considered her.
More book examples (3)
Metaphor is an enigma, wherein the thief who is plotting a stroke, the prisoner who is arranging an escape, take refuge.
Not long ago these glands were a complete enigma, owing to the fact that they are not provided with excretory ducts.
The mightiest men have hitherto always bowed reverently before the saint, as the enigma of self-subjugation and utter voluntary privation--why did they thus bow?