1
as in profound
difficult for one of ordinary knowledge or intelligence to understand
metaphysics is such an esoteric subject that most people are content to leave it to the philosophers
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in confidential
not known or meant to be known by the general populace
must have had some esoteric motive for leaving his art collection to a museum halfway around the globe
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of esoteric
Lightwall can tell you its name, who created it and answer more esoteric questions about its purpose.
—
Greg Mellen, Oc Register, 10 Feb. 2026
The once-esoteric field is now attracting tech bros, venture capitalists and philanthropists like Bill Gates.
—Frances Stead Sellers, Washington Post, 7 Feb. 2026
With the Games comes the quadrennial tradition of casual sports fans becoming experts in esoteric sports—for a couple weeks, at least.
—Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2026
Deadly wildfires, immigration raids, and an esoteric yet expensive battle about redrawing congressional districts are among the topics that dominated headlines in the state last year.
—Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for esoteric
Greg Mellen, Oc Register, 10 Feb. 2026
The once-esoteric field is now attracting tech bros, venture capitalists and philanthropists like Bill Gates.
—Frances Stead Sellers, Washington Post, 7 Feb. 2026
With the Games comes the quadrennial tradition of casual sports fans becoming experts in esoteric sports—for a couple weeks, at least.
—Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2026
Deadly wildfires, immigration raids, and an esoteric yet expensive battle about redrawing congressional districts are among the topics that dominated headlines in the state last year.
—Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for esoteric
Recent Examples of Synonyms for esoteric
Adjective
-
That sort of profound insight is indeed a rare commodity these days.—
Chris Roemer,
Baltimore Sun,
19 Feb. 2026
-
John and Alice Coltrane lived, composed, recorded, and pursued spiritual study during a period of profound artistic transformation during their time in the New York home, and Coltrane came of age as a creative innovator within the local music community while living in the Philadelphia House.—
Jem Aswad,
Variety,
19 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The episode delves into the confidential medical procedure to collect DNA and evidence and gives one of the most detailed depictions of the process for television.—
Senior Television,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2026
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Mountbatten-Windsor and Giuffre's settlement was confidential, the parties had said in a joint statement in the filing.—
Kim Hjelmgaard,
USA Today,
20 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Internal decision-making can become polarized, funding relationships strained, and exhibitions evaluated through ideological lenses rather than scholarly merit.—
William Jones,
USA Today,
10 Feb. 2026
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The fact that Katherine had been institutionalized may have tainted her scholarly reputation.—
Margaret Talbot,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Hillary Clinton has been especially vocal in calling for the proceedings to happen in public, rather than in private as Comer currently plans.—
STEVEN SLOAN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
26 Feb. 2026
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In exchange for debt proceeds, the trustee — Wells Fargo — agrees to issue certificates of participation to private investors, the lawsuit states.—
Jessica Seaman,
Denver Post,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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So far, Anthropic’s Claude is among the only AI models available for classified use, via Amazon’s top-secret cloud and Palantir’s Artificial Intelligence Platform.—
Reed Albergotti,
semafor.com,
25 Feb. 2026
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Now scientists have found that these caterpillars use a surprisingly complex rhythm like a secret knock to convince the ants to come fetch them.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
25 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The pair settled out of court for an undisclosed sum in 2022, per The Guardian.—
Bailey Bujnosek,
InStyle,
19 Feb. 2026
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Her civil case was settled in February 2022 for an undisclosed amount, with the then-prince making a substantial donation to her charity.—
Sarah D. Wire,
USA Today,
19 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Esoteric.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/esoteric. Accessed 27 Feb. 2026.
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