mysteriously
Americanadverb
Explanation
If something occurs in a strange or eerie way, you can say it happens mysteriously. Your little brother might mysteriously disappear every time the dog needs to be walked, for example. When something can't be easily explained, it happens mysteriously. Some people say that boats mysteriously disappear in a region of the Atlantic Ocean known as the Bermuda Triangle, and others tell stories of sick people being mysteriously healed by prayer. At the heart of mysteriously is the noun mystery, which had only a religious meaning until the late fourteenth century, and which is rooted in the the Greek word mysterion, "secret rite or doctrine."
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.
We began investigating this underworld for the BBC Radio 4 podcast Dead Rabbit after the bodies of dead hares and other animals were mysteriously dumped in two picturesque Hampshire villages in 2024.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
But just as he found hope in reuniting with them, he also learned that they had mysteriously disappeared mid-flight en route to Okinawa.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
Finger points at AI as famous scientist’s papers mysteriously redacted.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
Every time they went to meet him, however, Kato was mysteriously not at home.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
It was constructed around 1889 but burned mysteriously three years later.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
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.
