mysterious
Americanadjective
-
full of, characterized by, or involving mystery.
a mysterious occurrence.
-
implying or suggesting a mystery.
a mysterious smile.
-
of obscure nature, meaning, origin, etc.; puzzling; inexplicable.
a mysterious inscription on the ancient tomb.
- Synonyms:
- impenetrable, enigmatic, incomprehensible, unintelligible, unfathomable
adjective
-
characterized by or indicative of mystery
-
puzzling, curious, or enigmatic
Related Words
Mysterious, inscrutable, mystical, obscure refer to that which is not easily comprehended or explained. That which is mysterious, by being unknown or puzzling, excites curiosity, amazement, or awe: a mysterious disease. Inscrutable applies to that which is impenetrable, so enigmatic that one cannot interpret its significance: an inscrutable smile. That which is mystical has a secret significance, such as that attaching to certain rites or signs: mystical symbols. That which is obscure is discovered or comprehended dimly or with difficulty: obscure motives.
Other Word Forms
- mysteriously adverb
- mysteriousness noun
- quasi-mysterious adjective
- quasi-mysteriously adverb
- unmysterious adjective
- unmysteriously adverb
- unmysteriousness noun
Etymology
Origin of mysterious
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.
Remarkably, her family agrees to their marriage, but when Arturo discovers that the mysterious prisoner held by Puritans is Enrichetta, the widow of the executed King Charles I, he helps her escape.
He is cautious about bitcoin because of “the mystery about its founder. . . . One wants to understand what one is investing in. Bitcoin’s foundation is too mysterious.”
The instrumental “Tonic” is dark, mysterious, and oddly melodic, evoking an urban landscape in a film sequence charged with danger.
There is growing controversy over recent evidence suggesting that a mysterious force known as dark energy might be changing in a way that challenges our current understanding of time and space.
From BBC
A little more than a year after his apology, Berezovsky was found dead in mysterious circumstances in exile in the UK.
From BBC
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.
