occult

1 of 3

verb

oc·​cult ə-ˈkəlt 

ä-

occulted; occulting; occults

transitive verb

: to shut off from view or exposure : cover, eclipse

… the light of a star that was about to be occulted … by Uranus itself …

—Jonathan Eberhart

occulter noun

occult

2 of 3

adjective

oc·​cult ə-ˈkəlt 

ä-;

ˈä-ˌkəlt 

1

: not revealed : secret

… deep subterranean occult jealousy …

—J. C. Powys

2

: not easily apprehended or understood : abstruse, mysterious

… occult matters like nuclear physics, radiation effects and the designing of rockets …

—Robert Bendiner

3

: hidden from view : concealed

occult underground passages

4

: of or relating to supernatural or supernormal powers or practices or the knowledge of them

… the occult arts—astrology, palmistry, card reading …

—Amy Fine Collins

occult practices

5

: not manifest or detectable by clinical methods alone

occult carcinoma

also : not present in macroscopic amounts

occult blood in a stool

occultly adverb

occult

3 of 3

noun

oc·​cult ə-ˈkəlt 

ä-;

ˈä-ˌkəlt 

: matters regarded as involving the action or influence of supernatural or supernormal powers or some secret knowledge of them

—used with the

Synonyms of occult

Verb

• obscure
• conceal
• hide

Adjective

• mysterious
• cryptic
• mystic
• uncanny
• enigmatic
• obscure

Examples of occult in a Sentence

Verb

occulted their house from prying eyes by planting large trees around it

the actor's private life had long been occulted by a contrived public persona

Adjective

occult practices such as magic and fortune-telling

He began to believe he had occult powers.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Of course, many other (fainter) stars will also be occulted during the moon's passage through the cluster. —Joe Rao, Space.com, 8 Oct. 2025

From Korea alone, seven new projects spanning coming-of-age dramas to occult horror are seeking international co-production opportunities. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 20 Sep. 2025

Adjective

There, a new school of artists, thinkers and card readers began to see tarot as infused with a deep, occult significance. —Isabela Raygoza, Billboard, 25 Aug. 2025

There are even said to be more occult faith healers than medical doctors. —Harriet Marsden, theweek, 23 Sep. 2024

Noun

Its quality isn't the horror itself but the ghoulish environment and subtle danger that lies beneath, being a whodunit occult film that never lets up, keeping us guessing on the true nature of the terrors up until the bitter end. —Michael Lee Simpson, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Oct. 2025

Ellen’s head is a manifestly miserable place to spend time even before she’s injured while working on The Baroness, a macabre occult film made by a gay Jewish man in the twilight of the Weimar Republic and rescued from the secret collection of a dead Nazi. —Samantha Riedel, Them., 29 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

in part back-formation from occultation, in part continuing Middle English occulten "to keep secret, conceal," borrowed from Latin occultāre "to prevent from being seen, conceal, keep secret," frequentative derivative of occulere "to hide from view, conceal" — more at occult entry 2

Adjective

borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French, borrowed from Latin occultus "hidden from sight, secret, esoteric," from past participle of occulere "to hide from view, conceal," from oc-, assimilated variant of ob- ob- + -culere, from a verb base *cel- "hide," going back to Indo-European *ḱel- "cover, conceal" — more at conceal

Noun

noun derivative of occult entry 2

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

circa 1513, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1888, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing occult

• the occult

Rhymes for occult

• adult
• consult
• exult
• insult
• iseult
• result
• catapult
• subadult
• cult

Kids Definition

occult

1 of 3 verb

oc·​cult ə-ˈkəlt 

ä-

: to shut off from view : cover, eclipse

occult

2 of 3 adjective

oc·​cult ə-ˈkəlt  ä- 

ˈäk-əlt

1

: beyond understanding : mysterious

2

: of or relating to supernatural forces

occult

3 of 3 noun

ə-ˈkəlt  ä- 

ˈäk-əlt

: matters thought to involve the influence of supernatural forces

Medical Definition

occult

adjective

oc·​cult ə-ˈkəlt  ˈäk-ˌəlt 

: not manifest or detectable by clinical methods alone

occult carcinoma

also : not present in macroscopic amounts

occult blood in a stool specimen

fecal occult blood testing

compare gross sense 1b