adj
Meaning 1
Of unknown origin.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- He received a mysterious phone call this morning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: untraceable
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
mysterious
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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Received-Pronunciation: /mɪˈstɪə̯.ɹi.əs/
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General-American: /mɪˈstɪɹi.əs/
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General-American: /məˈstɪɹi.əs/
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US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -ɪəɹiəs
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CMU ARPABET: M IH0 S T IH1 R IY0 AH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
adj
Meaning 2
Having unknown qualities.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- Our boss is a mysterious man who hardly ever meets with us.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: esoteric, uncertain, undefined
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Meaning 3
Difficult to understand.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- Why he left without saying goodbye is quite mysterious.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: abstruse, Chinese, dense, enigmatic, fathomless, Greek, inapprehensible, incognizable, incomprehensible, ineffable, inenubilable, inexplicable, impenetrable, insensible, inscrutable, insoluble, insolvable, mysterious, nonunderstandable, obscure, retruse, tenebrose, thick, undecipherable, undiscoverable, unexplainable, unfathomable, ungraspable, unintelligible, unknowable, ununderstandable
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Meaning 4
Deliberately evasive or enigmatic.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- Stop being mysterious and just tell me what you want.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: abstruse, behind the scenes, catlike, backroom, stealth, clandestine, cloak-and-dagger, concealed, confidential, covert, deep-laid, dern, disguised, furtive, huggermugger, hush-hush, inconspicuous, incognito, low profile, lurksome, lurky, mousy, obfuscated, off-the-books, on the down-low, on the sly, secret, secretive, slinky, sly, sneaky, stealthy, sub rosa, surreptitious, under-the-table, under the radar, under wraps, undercover, underground, unperceived
Antonyms: none provided
adjective satellite
Meaning 5
having an import not apparent to the senses nor obvious to the intelligence; beyond ordinary understanding
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- mysterious symbols
- the mystical style of Blake
- occult lore
- the secret learning of the ancients
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: mystic, mystical, occult, secret, orphic
Antonyms: none provided
adjective satellite
Meaning 6
of an obscure nature- Rachel Carson
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- the new insurance policy is written without cryptic or mysterious terms
- a deep dark secret
- the inscrutable workings of Providence
- in its mysterious past it encompasses all the dim origins of life
- rituals totally mystifying to visitors from other lands
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: cryptic, cryptical, deep, inscrutable, mystifying
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
From Middle English *misterius (implied in misteriusly), probably partly from Middle French mystérieux and partly from Latin mystērium + -ous. By surface analysis, mystery + -ous.
Across languages
Translations
143 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Afrikaans: misterieus — of unknown origin
- Albanian: misterioz — of unknown origin
- Arabic: غَامِض (ḡāmiḍ) — of unknown origin
- Armenian: խորհրդավոր (xorhrdavor) — of unknown origin
- Armenian: առեղծվածային (aṙeġcvacayin) — of unknown origin
- Armenian: հանելուկային (hanelukayin) — of unknown origin
- Asturian: misteriosu — of unknown origin
- Azerbaijani: müəmmalı — of unknown origin
- Azerbaijani: əsrarəngiz — of unknown origin
- Azerbaijani: əsrarlı — of unknown origin
- Basque: misteriotsu — of unknown origin
- Basque: misteriozko — of unknown origin
- Belarusian: таямні́чы (tajamníčy) — of unknown origin
- Bulgarian: таи́нствен (taínstven) — of unknown origin
- Catalan: misteriós — of unknown origin
- Chinese: 神奇 (zh-min-nan) — of unknown origin
- Chinese Mandarin: 神秘 (shénmì) — of unknown origin
- Chinese Mandarin: 來源不明的 /来源不明的 (láiyuán bùmíng de) — of unknown origin
- Czech: tajemný — of unknown origin
- Czech: záhadný — of unknown origin
- Dutch: geheimzinnig — of unknown origin
- Dutch: mysterieus — of unknown origin
- Esperanto: mistera — of unknown origin
- Estonian: salapärane — of unknown origin
- Finnish: salaperäinen — of unknown origin
- Finnish: mystinen — of unknown origin
- Finnish: outo — of unknown origin
- French: mystérieux — of unknown origin
- Galician: misterioso — of unknown origin
- Georgian: ფარული (paruli) — of unknown origin
- Georgian: იდუმალი (idumali) — of unknown origin
- German: mysteriös — of unknown origin
- Greek: μυστήριος (mystírios) — of unknown origin
- Greenlandic: paasissaalluanngilaq — of unknown origin
- Hebrew: מִסְתּוֹרִי — of unknown origin
- Hindi: रहस्यपूर्ण (rahasyapūrṇ) — of unknown origin
- Hindi: गूढ (gūḍh) — of unknown origin
- Hungarian: titokzatos — of unknown origin
- Hungarian: rejtelmes — of unknown origin
- Hungarian: rejtélyes — of unknown origin
- Ido: misterioza — of unknown origin
- Indonesian: misterius — of unknown origin
- Irish: rúndiamhair — of unknown origin
- Italian: misterioso — of unknown origin
- Italian: ignoto — of unknown origin
- Japanese: 神秘的な (shinpiteki na) — of unknown origin
- Japanese: ミステリアスな (misuteriasu na) — of unknown origin
- Japanese: 不思議な (fushigi na) — of unknown origin
- Khmer: អាថ៌កំបាំង (ʼaat kɑmbang) — of unknown origin
- Korean: 신비(神秘)하다 (sinbihada) — of unknown origin
- Latin: arcanus — of unknown origin
- Latin: mysterius — of unknown origin
- Latin: obscurus — of unknown origin
- Latin: tectus — of unknown origin
- Latin: mysticus — of unknown origin
- Latin: secretus — of unknown origin
- Latin: reconditus — of unknown origin
- Latvian: mīklains — of unknown origin
- Latvian: noslēpumains — of unknown origin
- Lithuanian: paslaptingas — of unknown origin
- Malay: penuh misteri — of unknown origin
- Māori: porehu — of unknown origin
- Mongolian: нууц далд (nuuc dald) — of unknown origin
- Norman: mystéthieux — of unknown origin
- Occitan: misteriós — of unknown origin
- Persian: مبهم (mobham) — of unknown origin
- Persian: مرموز (marmuz) — of unknown origin
- Polish: tajemniczy — of unknown origin
- Portuguese: misterioso — of unknown origin
- Romanian: misterios — of unknown origin
- Russian: таи́нственный (taínstvennyj) — of unknown origin
- Russian: зага́дочный (zagádočnyj) — of unknown origin
- Sanskrit: गूढ (gūḍhá) — of unknown origin
- Scottish Gaelic: dìomhair — of unknown origin
- Serbo-Croatian: тајанствен — of unknown origin
- Serbo-Croatian: загонетан — of unknown origin
- Serbo-Croatian: tajanstven — of unknown origin
- Serbo-Croatian: zagonetan — of unknown origin
- Slovak: tajomný — of unknown origin
- Slovak: záhadný — of unknown origin
- Slovene: skrivnosten — of unknown origin
- Spanish: misterioso — of unknown origin
- Swahili: kidube — of unknown origin
- Swedish: mystisk — of unknown origin
- Tagalog: katakataka — of unknown origin
- Thai: ลี้ลับ (lée láp) — of unknown origin
- Tibetan: མགོ་འཐོམ་ཡག (mgo 'thom yag) — of unknown origin
- Turkish: gizemli — of unknown origin
- Turkish: esrarlı — of unknown origin
- Turkmen: syrly — of unknown origin
- Ukrainian: таємни́чий (tajemnýčyj) — of unknown origin
- Vietnamese: thần bí — of unknown origin
- Welsh: cyfriniol — of unknown origin
- Welsh: rhiniol — of unknown origin
- Yiddish: מיסטעריעז (misteryez) — of unknown origin
- Bulgarian: тайнствен (tajnstven) — having unknown qualities
- Chinese Mandarin: 神秘 (shénmì) — having unknown qualities
- Czech: tajuplný — having unknown qualities
- Dutch: geheimzinnig — having unknown qualities
- Dutch: raadselachtig — having unknown qualities
- Dutch: mysterieus — having unknown qualities
- Finnish: salaperäinen — having unknown qualities
- Finnish: mystinen — having unknown qualities
- Georgian: იდუმალი (idumali) — having unknown qualities
- German: rätselhaft — having unknown qualities
- Ido: misterioza — having unknown qualities
- Irish: rúnda — having unknown qualities
- Latin: arcanus — having unknown qualities
- Latin: secretus — having unknown qualities
- Latin: occultus — having unknown qualities
- Latin: reconditus — having unknown qualities
- Latin: mysticus — having unknown qualities
- Latin: tectus — having unknown qualities
- Latin: obscurus — having unknown qualities
- Latvian: noslēpumains — having unknown qualities
- Latvian: mīklains — having unknown qualities
- Malay: penuh misteri — having unknown qualities
- Polish: tajemniczy — having unknown qualities
- Portuguese: misterioso — having unknown qualities
- Russian: неизве́стный (neizvéstnyj) — having unknown qualities
- Scottish Gaelic: dìomhair — having unknown qualities
- Bulgarian: загадъчен (zagadǎčen) — difficult to understand
- Chinese Mandarin: 難以理解的 /难以理解的 (nányǐ lǐjiě de) — difficult to understand
- Chinese Mandarin: 費解的 /费解的 (fèijiě de) — difficult to understand
- Chinese Mandarin: 晦澀的 /晦涩的 (huìsè de) — difficult to understand
- Finnish: vaikeaselkoinen — difficult to understand
- Māori: pōkīkī — difficult to understand
- Norwegian: mystiskt — difficult to understand
- Norwegian Bokmål: mystisk — difficult to understand
- Norwegian Nynorsk: mystisk — difficult to understand
- Polish: zagadkowy — difficult to understand
- Portuguese: misterioso — difficult to understand
- Russian: непостижи́мый (nepostižímyj) — difficult to understand
- Russian: непоня́тный (neponjátnyj) — difficult to understand
- Bulgarian: мистериозен (misteriozen) — deliberately evasive or enigmatic
- Chinese Mandarin: 故弄玄虛的 /故弄玄虚的 (gùnòngxuánxū de) — deliberately evasive or enigmatic
- Finnish: arvoituksellinen — deliberately evasive or enigmatic
- Māori: porehu — deliberately evasive or enigmatic
- Māori: pōkīkī — deliberately evasive or enigmatic
- Polish: zagadkowy — deliberately evasive or enigmatic
- Portuguese: misterioso — deliberately evasive or enigmatic
- Russian: зага́дочный (zagádočnyj) — deliberately evasive or enigmatic
- Russian: таи́нственный (taínstvennyj) — deliberately evasive or enigmatic
Real reading context