esoteric
Americanadjective
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understood by or meant for only the select few who have special knowledge or interest; recondite.
poetry full of esoteric allusions.
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belonging to the select few.
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private; secret; confidential.
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(of a philosophical doctrine or the like) intended to be revealed only to the initiates of a group.
the esoteric doctrines of Pythagoras.
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Computers. (of programming or a programming language) designed to test or explore an unusual programming concept, regardless of its usefulness.
adjective
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restricted to or intended for an enlightened or initiated minority, esp because of abstruseness or obscurity Compare exoteric
an esoteric cult
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difficult to understand; abstruse
an esoteric statement
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not openly admitted; private
esoteric aims
Usage
What does esoteric mean? Esoteric most commonly means obscure and only understood or intended to be understood by a small number of people with special (and perhaps secret) knowledge.It’s often used to describe knowledge that’s only intended to be revealed to people who have been initiated into a certain group. The word is often associated with mysticism and the occult.Such knowledge can be collectively referred to as esoterica, which can also refer collectively to books and other works that contain such topics.Example: To the uninitiated, this kind of esoteric knowledge is impenetrably arcane.
Other Word Forms
- esoterically adverb
- esotericism noun
- nonesoteric adjective
- nonesoterically adverb
- unesoteric adjective
Etymology
Origin of esoteric
First recorded in 1645–55; from Greek esōterikós “inner,” equivalent to esṓter(os) “inner” + -ikos -ic
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
My question was, admittedly, a bit esoteric and although I had to nudge the agent ever so slightly, I managed to get my answer pretty quickly, nonetheless.
From Salon • Mar. 13, 2026
The Druze are followers of an esoteric religion that split from Shiite Islam centuries ago.
From Barron's • Feb. 20, 2026
Banks was only 21 when they released “Nursery Cryme,” a haunting LP that combines the melodrama of post-romantic classical with esoteric folk-rock.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 10, 2026
Rowling series for themselves—often rereading, committing passages to memory and challenging one another to answer esoteric trivia questions.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 19, 2025
I had long argued that Communist literature was, for the most part, dull, esoteric, and Western-centered, but ought to be simple, clear, and relevant to the African masses.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
