enigma

enigma

基本释义

[noun] a person or thing that is mysterious, puzzling, or difficult to understand
[名词] 神秘的、令人困惑的或难以理解的人或事物

深入解读

Enigma 一词源自古希腊语 ainigma （暗语、谜语），16世纪30年代进入英语后即开始用来表示“用晦涩的词句或形式来掩盖隐藏的意思或已知事物的陈述”，即“词意隐晦的文章或话语”，比如：

• 他经常说些叫人听不懂的话。我真搞不懂他在说什么。
  He often speaks in enigmas. I really couldn’t fathom what he is talking about.

而到了17世纪之后，则进一步引申出现在的通用含义“神秘的人、费解的事物、令人困惑的处境”，多指任何无法理解的事物或者说超出自己独立理解范围之外的东西，强调含义或意义隐藏在晦涩或模棱两可的暗指之下，使人只能猜测，比如：

• 她有点让人捉摸不透。不过，她喜欢贪求名望，这一点是肯定的。
  She is something of an enigma. However, she is prone to lust after prestige, that’s for sure.
• 报纸上充斥着有关飞机失踪之谜的报道。最初报道死亡人数约200，后修订为300。
  The newspapers were full of stories about the enigma of the plane’s disappearance. The death toll was initially reported at around 200, but was later revised to 300.

而曾在之前推送的 小词详解 | fathom 的基本释义中出现的 enigmatic 则是 enigma 的衍生形容词，相应表示“神秘的、费解的、令人困惑的”，强调常常使人难以找到其真正的含义或意义，比如：

与他分居的妻子在他的电话答录机中留了一条莫名其妙的留言。
His estranged wife left an enigmatic message on his answering machine.

好书例句

To Scarlett, he was still an enigma but an enigma about which she no longer bothered her head.
对思嘉来说，他依然是个谜，不过她已不再为这个谜而伤脑筋了。

出自美国作家玛格丽特·米切尔（Margaret Mitchell）创作的长篇小说《飘》（Gone with the Wind）。该小说在1937年获得普利策奖，是玛格丽特·米切尔在世时出版的唯一一部作品。不但它成为美国史上最为畅销的小说之一，而且由这部小说所改编的同名电影《乱世佳人》也成为影史上不朽的经典。

外刊例句

• To get a sense of the Samsung enigma consider first its ruling dynasty.
  要想了解三星之谜，先来看看它的统治家族。
  ——《经济学人》
• The site, in any iteration, has always been an enigma.
  不管如何迭代，这个网站一直都是一个谜。
  ——《纽约时报》

详细用法

1. Definition: 定义

• Definition of enigma (enigma 的定义)
• Puzzle or mystery (谜题或神秘之物)
• Something that is difficult to understand or explain (难以理解或解释的事物)

2. Complexity and Intrigue: 复杂性与神秘性

• Enigmatic nature (神秘的性质)
• Enigmatic personality (神秘的个性)
• Enigmatic behavior (神秘的行为)
• Enigmatic smile (神秘的微笑)

3. Intellectual and Artistic References: 知识与艺术参考

• Enigma of the Sphinx (斯芬克斯之谜)
• Literary enigmas (文学谜题)
• Artistic enigmas (艺术谜题)
• The enigma of creativity (创造力之谜)

4. Historical and Cultural Context: 历史与文化背景

• The enigma of ancient civilizations (古代文明之谜)
• Enigma machines in World War II (第二次世界大战中的恩尼格玛机)
• Enigma of the Mona Lisa (《蒙娜丽莎》的谜团)
• The enigma of Stonehenge (巨石阵之谜)

5. Popular Usage: 流行用法

• Pop culture enigmas (流行文化谜题)
• Internet enigmas (网络谜题)
• Celebrity enigmas (名人谜题)
• The enigma of identity (身份之谜)

深度学习

enigma (en IG ma) “A puzzling, inexplicable, or ambiguous situation” is the meaning of this noun. You can use it to describe a person or a thing. The adjective form is “enigmatic.”

• In a 1939 radio broadcast, British statesman Winston Churchill said: “I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.”
• Professor Arfer’s grading policies were a complete enigma to his students; he seemed to weigh class participation, attendance, and exam grades in different combinations each semester.

——摘自《Fiske WordPower: The Most Effective System for Building a Vocabulary That Gets Results Fast》

机器翻译，仅供参考

同近义词

mystery: something that is difficult or impossible to understand or explain
riddle: a person, event, or fact that is difficult to understand or explain
conundrum: a confusing and difficult problem or question

相关电影

拦截密码战 Enigma（2001）