Meaning

Something secret or unexplainable; an unknown..

Definitions by Sense

1. Something secret or unexplainable; an unknown.
2. Someone or something with an obscure or puzzling nature.
3. An account, story, book, film, or play, often with the theme of crime or murder, with a surprise ending that explains all the strange events that have occurred.
4. A mystery play.
5. (obsolete) A secret or mystical meaning.
6. A religious truth not understandable by the application of human reason alone (without divine aid).
7. (archaic outside Eastern Orthodoxy) A sacrament.
8. (chiefly in the plural) A secret religious celebration, admission to which was usually through initiation.

Example Sentences

The truth behind the events remains a mystery.

The case was that of a murder. It had an element of mystery about it, however, which was puzzling the authorities. A turban and loincloth soaked in blood had been found; also a staff.

The fate of the railway from Ballater to Braemar has been invested with an air of mystery, which has never been completely dispelled. It has been suggested that Queen Victoria was opposed to a railway in the vicinity of Balmoral Castle, and intervened personally to secure the abandonment of the line beyond Ballater.

That man is a mystery.

Then I had a good think on the subject of the hocussing of Cigarette, and I was reluctantly bound to admit that once again the man in the corner had found the only possible solution to the mystery.

The Moralities displayed something more of art and invention than the Mysteries; in them virtues, vices and qualities were personified, and something like a plot was frequently to be discovered.

[…] and, not knowing the meaning or misterie of her pollicie, forgat no termes of reproche or rigorous rebuke against his chast doughter.

1744 (first printed), Jonathan Swift, A Sermon on the Trinity If God should please to reveal unto us this great mystery of the Trinity, or some other mysteries in our holy religion, we should not be able to understand them, unless he would bestow on us some new faculties of the mind.

Word Forms

• mysteries

Synonyms for mystery

Related Words

When Should You Use Mystery?

Use mystery when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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