mysticism

American  

[mis-tuh-siz-uhm] / ˈmɪs təˌsɪz əm /

noun

• mysticisms
  plural

1. the beliefs, ideas, or mode of thought of mystics.

2. a doctrine of an immediate spiritual intuition of truths believed to transcend ordinary understanding, or of a direct, intimate union of the soul with God through contemplation or ecstasy.

3. obscure thought or speculation.

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mysticism British  

/ ˈmɪstɪˌsɪzəm /

noun

1. belief in or experience of a reality surpassing normal human understanding or experience, esp a reality perceived as essential to the nature of life

2. a system of contemplative prayer and spirituality aimed at achieving direct intuitive experience of the divine

3. obscure or confused belief or thought

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mysticism Cultural  

1. In religion, the attempt by an individual to achieve a personal union with God or with some other divine being or principle. Mystics generally practice daily meditation.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antimysticism
  noun
• nonmysticism
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• mysticisms
  plural

Etymology

Origin of mysticism

First recorded in 1730–40; mystic + -ism

Explanation

Mysticism is a religion or religious belief based on union or communion with a deity, or divine being. Mysticism is what lets you transcend the physical to experience enlightenment — let's just say you'll recognize it when it happens. Mystical, mysterious, and filled with wonder, mysticism is easily associated with crystals, New Age theories, or the occult (the supernatural). The truth is that many faiths, including Hinduism, Judaism, and Christianity, have their own forms of mysticism, placing an emphasis on spiritual connection and union, and the mysteries of religion over dogma or rigid rules. Outside of religion, mysticism is applied to cryptic, obscure, or irrational thought — leaning toward mystery and wonder, rather than logic.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mysticism mysticisms

Over time her work became more personal, leaning in to Afrocentric mysticism and her distinctive voice, which sidesteps gospel projection in favor of intimate and playful phrasing that recalls Billie Holiday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

Nor is it trying to emulate the high court drama and mysticism of “House of the Dragon,” also scored by Djawadi.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026

Hegel was a metaphysician whose insistence that Geist, or spirit, pervades the historical process and moves it to some grand culmination is difficult to distinguish from New Age mysticism, and hence charlatanism.

From Salon ● Mar. 28, 2026

Photographer Sebastian Pii is the perfect guide through the bewildering mysticism of Colombian writer-director Augusto Sandino’s debut.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 22, 2025

There was no mysticism, no invoking of God, merely a passionate identification of all present with a will to right wrongs.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright

At all times and in all places, these two mysticisms have given each other the hand.

From Lectures on the true, the beautiful and the good by Victor Cousin

He is not a poet dealing in mysticisms, but a rhetorical philosopher, propounding startling theories, partly true and partly false, which he logically enforces with matchless eloquence.

From Beacon Lights of History, Volume 13 Great Writers; Dr Lord's Uncompleted Plan, Supplemented with Essays by Emerson, Macaulay, Hedge, and Mercer Adam by John Lord

He did not deal in "abstractions, or generalized arguments," or vague mysticisms.

From A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves Poems of James Barron Hope by James Barron Hope

"Liszt's criticisms upon his separate works have all the eloquent mysticisms to be expected from him; and the biography is a book musicians will always prize."

From The Influence of the Organ in History Inaugural Lecture of the Department of the Organ in the College of Music of Boston University by Dudley Buck

Stoicism, hedonism, the faith of his childhood, new-fangled mysticisms would join hands and hold revel round his soul for those twelve weeks, those eighty-four days, those two thousand and sixteen hours.…

From The Education of Eric Lane by Stephen McKenna