mystic
1 Americanadjective
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involving or characterized by esoteric, otherworldly, or symbolic practices or content, as certain religious ceremonies and art; spiritually significant; ethereal.
-
of the nature of or pertaining to mysteries known only to the initiated.
mystic rites.
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of occult character, power, or significance.
a mystic formula.
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of obscure or mysterious character or significance.
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of or relating to mystics or mysticism.
noun
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a person who claims to attain, or believes in the possibility of attaining, insight into mysteries transcending ordinary human knowledge, as by direct communication with the divine or immediate intuition in a state of spiritual ecstasy.
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a person initiated into religious mysteries.
noun
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
- antimystic adjective
- mysticity noun
- mysticly adverb
- nonmystic adjective
- semimystic adjective
- unmystic adjective
Etymology
Origin of mystic
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English mystik, from Latin mysticus, from Greek mystikós, from mýst(ēs) “an initiate into the mysteries” (from myeîn “to initiate, teach,” akin to mýein “to shut”; myopia ( def. ) ) + -ikos -ic
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 those readers who have discovered “The Marble Faun,” his shadowy and mystic last novel, know a very different writer.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
An entrancing set of 13 Glass songs to texts by the 13th-century mystic Jalal al-Din Rumi was supposed to serve as the framework for pioneering 21st-century opera with 3D imagery.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 6, 2025
It was this identification with Derbyshire that led Tutti to write Re-Sisters in 2002, which also focused on another non-conformist woman, the medieval Norfolk mystic Margery Kempe.
From BBC • Jun. 7, 2025
Healy Lake members, Combs said, have long considered their dogs to be mystic companions.
From Science Daily • Dec. 4, 2024
The door opened and the two armed men returned, between them the tall Talib in white, still wearing his dark John Lennon glasses, looking like some broad-shouldered, New Age mystic guru.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
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.
