ENIGMATIC

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does enigmatic mean? 

• ENIGMATIC (adjective)
  The adjective ENIGMATIC has 2 senses:

1. not clear to the understanding

2. resembling an oracle in obscurity of thought

  Familiarity information: ENIGMATIC used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ENIGMATIC (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Not clear to the understanding

Synonyms:

enigmatic; enigmatical; puzzling

Context example:

prophetic texts so enigmatic that their meaning has been disputed for centuries

Similar:

incomprehensible; uncomprehensible (difficult to understand)

Derivation:

enigma (something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Resembling an oracle in obscurity of thought

Synonyms:

enigmatic; oracular

Context example:

an enigmatic smile

Similar:

ambiguous (having more than one possible meaning)

Derivation:

enigma (something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained)

 Context examples 

The true nature of this enigmatic interstellar nomad may remain a mystery.

(ESO’s VLT Sees `Oumuamua Getting a Boost, ESO)

I was at first unable to solve these questions, but perpetual attention and time explained to me many appearances which were at first enigmatic.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

During NASA's Cassini mission's final distant encounter with Saturn's giant moon Titan, the spacecraft captured the enigmatic moon's north polar landscape of lakes and seas, which are filled with liquid methane and ethane.

(Cassini's Final View of Titan's Northern Lakes and Seas, NASA)

As NASA's Dawn spacecraft continues exploring Ceres, evidence mounts that the enigmatic dwarf planet retains a significant amount of water ice.

(Landslides on Ceres Reflect Ice Content, NASA)

In addition, the star has had much subtler but longer-term enigmatic dimming trends, with one continuing today.

(Mysterious Dimming of Tabby's Star May Be Caused by Dust, NASA)

Archaeologists from the University of Granada have carried out excavations in the Biniadris Cave located on the Balearic Island of Menorca, uncovering enigmatic funeral rituals.

(Hair was dyed for first time as part of funeral rituals, University of Granada)

Therefore I blessed this Mr. Overton whoever he might be, since he had come with his enigmatic message to break that dangerous calm which brought more peril to my friend than all the storms of his tempestuous life.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

His lips moved, and he gave voice to this enigmatic utterance: A shilling’s worth a quarter; but keep your lamps out for thruppenny-bits, or the publicans ’ll shove ’em on you for sixpence.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Each time a moon broke apart and reformed from the resulting ring, its successor moon would be five times smaller than the last, according to the model, and debris would have rained down on the planet, possibly explaining enigmatic sedimentary deposits found near Mars' equator.

(Does Mars Have Rings? Not Right Now, But Maybe One Day, NASA)

You could have had kilometer-thick piles of moon sediment raining down on Mars in the early parts of the planet's history, and there are enigmatic sedimentary deposits on Mars with no explanation as to how they got there, said Purdue's David Minton, assistant professor of Earth, atmospheric and planetary sciences.

(Mars May Have Had Rings, and May Once Again, VOA News)