Usage
What does esotericism mean? Esotericism is the state or quality of being esoteric—obscure and only understood or intended to be understood by a small number of people with special (and perhaps secret) knowledge. Esotericism often involves knowledge that’s only intended to be revealed to people who have been initiated into a certain group. The word is closely associated with mysticism and the occult. The word esotericism can also refer to esoteric beliefs or writings. A similar term is esoterica, which collectively refers to such knowledge or to books and other works that contain such topics. Other, less common names for esotericism are esoterism and esotery. Someone who practices esotericism or holds such beliefs can be called an esotericist. Example: To the uninitiated, this kind of esotericism is impenetrably arcane.
Other Word Forms
- esotericist noun
Etymology
Origin of esotericism
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.
But for members of the Source Family, a group that some call a cult, it’s a way of life honed over decades of study and ritualism based in Western esotericism.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2023
It’s hard to blame them for resorting to fantasy and esotericism, after all, when accurate information about the government’s current activities is so easily concealed and so woefully incomplete.
From New York Times • Sep. 11, 2018
But The Vorrh, while rich with esotericism, was not that book.
From The Guardian • Aug. 7, 2018
The massive and profusely illustrated volume analyzes everything from Pythagorean mathematics to the esotericism of the Shakespearean dramas.
From Salon • May 21, 2015
Until someone will voluntarily lift that veil of esotericism, the speculations of western scholars will go for little.
From The Crest-Wave of Evolution A Course of Lectures in History, Given to the Graduates' Class in the Raja-Yoga College, Point Loma, in the College-Year 1918-19 by Morris, Kenneth
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.
