Enigmatically

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. in a manner that is puzzling, mysterious, or difficult to understand or interpret clearly
2. In a way that is perplexing, full of mystery, or hard to clarify
3. In a fashion that evokes intrigue, is not easily deciphered, or remains ambiguous

Etymology: "Enigmatically" is an adverb built from "enigmatic" and the suffix "-ally", which turns an adjective into an adverb meaning "in the manner of". The suffix has a long ancestry: it descends from a Proto-Germanic "-līkō", meaning "having the form of" or "like", which passed into Old English as "-līċe" and was later worn down to "-ly" in Middle English. The "-al" element in "-ally" came in through Latin "-ālis" by way of Old French, which is why adjectives ending in "-al" plus "-ly" form such a common family in English. The base word, "enigmatic", traces back through Latin "aenigma" and Greek "ainigma", meaning "riddle", from a root meaning "to speak in riddles" or "to hint". Its forms in English follow the same pattern: "enigma" was the noun, and "enigmatic" was made from it by adding the adjective-forming "-ic" and "-al" endings, so "enigmatically" is a word stacked several layers deep.

Synonyms: mysteriously, cryptically, puzzlingly, obscurely, ambiguously

Antonyms: clearly, obviously, plainly, evidently, explicitly