Something that's enigmatic is tough to figure out. It's puzzling and even mysterious, like those weird secret college societies, Mona Lisa's smile, or the New York Times crossword. It's no mystery where the adjective enigmatic comes from: It's rooted in the Greek word for riddle.

Understanding the Context

It’s no mystery then, that the adjective enigmatic describes what is hard to solve or figure out. An enigmatic person, for example, may be someone with a bit of je ne sais quoi. ENIGMATIC definition: resembling an enigma, or a puzzling occurrence, situation, statement, person, etc.; perplexing; mysterious. See examples of enigmatic used in a sentence.

Key Insights

ENIGMATIC definition: 1. mysterious and impossible to understand completely: 2. mysterious and impossible to understand…. Learn more. Of or resembling an enigma; puzzling: a professor's enigmatic grading system.

Final Thoughts

See Synonyms at mysterious. [Greek ainigmatikos, from ainigma, ainigmat-, riddle; see enigma.] Definition of enigmatic adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more. Adjective enigmatic (comparative more enigmatic, superlative most enigmatic) Pertaining to an enigma. Mysterious. Someone or something that is enigmatic is mysterious and difficult to understand.

He studied her, an enigmatic smile on his face. Britannica Dictionary definition of ENIGMATIC [more enigmatic; most enigmatic] : full of mystery and difficult to understand an enigmatic answer/smile Nature: Unveiling High-Resolution CH4 Profiles Over Southeast China: Novel Insights From AirCore Balloon Observations Unveiling High-Resolution CH4 Profiles Over Southeast China: Novel Insights From AirCore Balloon Observations Carl Gustav Jung (1973). “Memories, dreams, reflections”, Random House Inc The person who looks outward dreams, the person who looks inward awakens. Edmund Burke (1790).