| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| mysterious |
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| SYLLABICATION: | mys·te·ri·ous |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  m -stîr  - s |
| ADJECTIVE: | 1. Of, relating to, or being a mystery: mysterious and infinite truths. 2. Simultaneously arousing wonder and inquisitiveness, and eluding explanation or comprehension: a mysterious visitor; mysterious conduct. | | ETYMOLOGY: | French mystérieux, from mystère, secret, from Latin mystrium. See mystery1. | | OTHER FORMS: | mys·teri·ous·ly —ADVERB
mys·teri·ous·ness —NOUN
| | SYNONYMS: | mysterious, esoteric, arcane, occult, inscrutable These adjectives mean beyond human power to explain or understand. Something mysterious arouses wonder and inquisitiveness: “The sea lies all about us…. In its mysterious past it encompasses all the dim origins of life” (Rachel Carson). What is esoteric is mysterious because only a select group knows and understands it: a compilation of esoteric philosophical essays. Arcane applies to what is hidden from general knowledge: arcane economic theories. Occult suggests knowledge reputedly gained only by secret, magical, or supernatural means: an occult rite. Something that is inscrutable cannot be fathomed by means of investigation or scrutiny: “It is not for me to attempt to fathom the inscrutable workings of Providence” (Earl of Birkenhead).
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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