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

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Etymology

Origin of mysticism

First recorded in 1730–40; mystic + -ism

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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

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

These highly autobiographical works draw on her Afro-Brazilian heritage, radiate with mysticism and focus on womanhood.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 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

But mysticism also holds sway behind the closed door of politics.

From Barron's ● Dec. 21, 2025

Like Kepler, he was not immune to the superstitions of his day and had many encounters with mysticism.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

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

They are happy, cheerful spirits, void of mysteries, and do not torture people with mysticisms.

From Old Fritz and the New Era by Peter Langley

There are superstitions of the reason and of realism,—the grotesque fancies, mysticisms, and vagaries which prevail, and the diseased gusto for something ultra and outlandish which affects many raw and undisciplined minds.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 09, No. 55, May, 1862 by Various

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

His brain was becoming too crammed with queries, with strange happenings and with the aggravating mysticisms of the life into which his father's death had thrown him to permit clearness of vision.

From The Cross-Cut by Courtney Ryley Cooper

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