involving or characterized by esoteric, otherworldly, or symbolic practices or content, as certain religious ceremonies and art; spiritually significant; ethereal.
of the nature of or pertaining to mysteries known only to the initiated.
mystic rites.
of occult character, power, or significance.
a mystic formula.
of obscure or mysterious character or significance.
of or relating to mystics or mysticism.
a person who claims to attain, or believes in the possibility of attaining, insight into mysteries transcending ordinary human knowledge, as by direct communication with the divine or immediate intuition in a state of spiritual ecstasy.
a person initiated into religious mysteries.
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English mystik, from Latin mysticus, from Greek mystikós, from mýst(ēs) “an initiate into the mysteries” (from myeîn “to initiate, teach,” akin to mýein “to shut”; cf. myopia ( def. )) + -ikos -ic
Look into my crystal ball; tell me what you see. If there's something about the future, something beyond human comprehension in there, maybe you're a mystic or someone who believes in supernatural realities. One of the most famous mystics in history is Nostradamus, who some people credit with predicting events like the French Revolution and the atom bomb. Whether you believe in mystics or not, the word is not just used to describe people. When something is mystic, it has to do with religious mysteries and practices or it simply inspires a sense of mystery or wonder, like the Himalaya Mountains, which some people consider a mystic place.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In Maggie O’Farrell’s novel, an Irish mapmaker and his family endure poverty and take strength from a connection to the mystic past.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
It was this identification with Derbyshire that led Tutti to write Re-Sisters in 2002, which also focused on another non-conformist woman, the medieval Norfolk mystic Margery Kempe.
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2025
Healy Lake members, Combs said, have long considered their dogs to be mystic companions.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 4, 2024
Alanis is interested in these mystic “slippery slope” moments, these big-ticket human crises that feel apocalyptic yet idiotic.
From Salon ● Nov. 29, 2024
Another man with his hand raised said, “I heard the Persians hired one of those wandering mystic types.”
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
“The word Mystic has also become a driving force of what this journey means to me,” Saleh says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
Saleh created her brand Mystic by Esme in 2021, but it took her some time before she could gather the courage to try to sell them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
Camp Mystic, an all-girls camp, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday after catastrophic flooding killed 28 people last year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
David Standridge, chef at The Shipwright's Daughter in Mystic, Connecticut – a 2026 James Beard finalist for Outstanding Chef of the Year – is one of them.
From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026
Between Westerly and Mystic, the tracks are at an angle, embedded into the sloping land, so that the whole train threatens, ever so slightly, to topple over.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
Such activities include praying to gods and deities, fortunetelling and physiognomy, and consulting spiritual gurus or mystics, according to party commentaries and state media.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
Formula 1 is about physics and not mystics.
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026
Myanmar has a rich culture of fortune-telling, and many believe the future can be discerned by mystics.
From Barron's ● Dec. 21, 2025
Unlike some of the bolder mystics of medieval Europe, however, she is relatively circumspect about her powers and thus attracts little unwanted attention.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2024
The generic rubric ‘theists’ covers Jewish rabbis from eighteenth-century Poland, witch-burning Puritans from seventeenth-century Massachusetts, Aztec priests from fifteenth-century Mexico, Sufi mystics from twelfth-century Iran, tenth-century Viking warriors, second-century Roman legionnaires, and first-century Chinese bureaucrats.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
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.
