demystify
Americanverb (used with object)
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demystifies,
present (3rd person singular)
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demystified,
past participle, past
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demystifying
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
demystifysimple
-
demystifiessimple
-
have demystifiedperfect
-
has demystifiedperfect
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am demystifyingprogressive
-
are demystifyingprogressive
-
is demystifyingprogressive
-
have been demystifyingperfect progressive
-
has been demystifyingperfect progressive
Past
-
demystifiedsimple
-
had demystifiedperfect
-
was demystifyingprogressive
-
were demystifyingprogressive
-
had been demystifyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of demystify
Explanation
To demystify something is to make it much easier to understand or see. Your favorite math teacher might be the one who manages to demystify calculus for you. When you demystify things, you remove any mystery or secrecy connected with them. You might feel the need to demystify complicated or difficult ideas, subjects, or tasks. A car repair class can demystify the idea of working on your own engine, and traveling to France often helps language learners demystify the French language. To mystify is to bewilder or perplex, from the Latin root mysticus, "mystical, mystic, or secret."
Vocabulary lists containing demystify
"A Village After Dark" by Kazuo Ishiguro
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for September 24–September 30, 2022
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Women in Space
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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.
See Examples For:
Such emotional familiarity ensures that even a quick dinner over sandwiches in the park can provide us with conversational carte blanche, a space to decompress and demystify without judgment.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
Lee’s priorities include expanding civic engagement and language accessibility, with an aim to demystify legal proceedings for students and nonnative English speakers.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
He seeks to liberate Sondheim’s reputation from the encrustation of myth and to demystify his relationships, while offering a succinct analysis of his achievements.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026
"It is important to demystify surgeries that celebrities have and educate patients," he says.
From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2026
I wanted to demystify the ANC for them, to peel away their prejudices.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Sonic Playground, its newest permanent exhibit, demystifies the music-making process for people of all ages.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2025
For the last two years, she and the Seattle-based retailer produced “Cook Out,” a video series that demystifies outdoor cooking and spotlights food purveyors from around the Northwest.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 4, 2023
The writer and director Lorna Tucker draws from rare archival audio and home movies, elegantly assembling a portrait that both celebrates and demystifies her considerable legend.
From New York Times ● Jun. 14, 2023
“So much of this is about building a college-going culture. They, by definition, are letting students know that college … is absolutely achievable and it demystifies the entire thing,” he said.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 27, 2023
On his website, he describes himself as a "visionary for the 'Now Age'" who "demystifies spirituality".
From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2022
But since the early 2000s, tattoos have been steadily "demystified" through a combination of celebrities and popular TV shows such as Tattoo Fixers and London Ink, says Rees.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
They brilliantly demystified classical music to millions of viewers young and old.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 22, 2023
She followed with several Thanksgiving TikToks that further demystified the new arrival, including one in which she and husband Carter Reum chant “big brother” to their baby son Phoenix.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 24, 2023
Whereas most weird quantum behaviors are demystified by thinking of small particles as waves instead of minuscule balls, genuine quantum weirdness arises when you measure a quantum object.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 12, 2023
Just as the remote control allowed a generation to deconstruct the content of television, the video game joystick demystified its technology.
From Open Source Democracy by Douglas Rushkoff
There’s something very powerful there: She’s demystifying a process that can still be shrouded in unnecessary secrecy, and making a choice many women have at least considered.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
The new season, which drops weekly on the Tastemade YouTube channel, takes viewers back to the basics, helping them create scratch staples at home and demystifying some of the most intimidating aspects of home cooking.
From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2026
But Child became famous by demystifying it with her deep culinary knowledge, boundless enthusiasm, humor and honesty.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026
Noah Whiteman, a professor of molecular and cell biology at UC Berkeley, hailed the paper for demystifying a symbiotic relationship that has captivated scientists.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 10, 2026
From Moses to modems: demystifying the storytelling and taking control We are living in a world of stories.
From Open Source Democracy by Douglas Rushkoff
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.
