as in enigmas
something hard to understand or explain
why my sister married that guy is still a mystery to my parents
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Recent Examples of mysteries
New York — One of the biggest mysteries of the global economy is why the oil market has remained so calm during one of the greatest supply shocks in history.
—
Matt Egan, CNN Money, 9 June 2026
Solving the mysteries of Lewis’s art hasn’t been easy.
—Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 8 June 2026
Among the biggest of those mysteries is matter – the substance that makes up everything around us.
—Christopher Karwin, The Conversation, 8 June 2026
For new discoveries, everyday mysteries, and the science behind the headlines, follow NPR's ShortWave podcast .
—Ari Daniel, NPR, 7 June 2026
The gang was younger, the mysteries were smaller, and everything felt lighter.
—Alex Shoemaker, Parents, 6 June 2026
But the possibility of an epochal discovery that radically changes our understanding of the universe’s history and solves one of the greatest mysteries in modern astrophysics is too alluring to ignore.
—Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American, 4 June 2026
The Mystery of the Human Brain To this day, the human brain is still among medicine’s biggest mysteries.
—Matt Emma, USA Today, 3 June 2026
Season 4 will be based on Robert Thorogood’s novel Murder on the Marlow Belle, along with new original mysteries.
—Denise Petski, Deadline, 2 June 2026
Matt Egan, CNN Money, 9 June 2026
Solving the mysteries of Lewis’s art hasn’t been easy.
—Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 8 June 2026
Among the biggest of those mysteries is matter – the substance that makes up everything around us.
—Christopher Karwin, The Conversation, 8 June 2026
For new discoveries, everyday mysteries, and the science behind the headlines, follow NPR's ShortWave podcast .
—Ari Daniel, NPR, 7 June 2026
The gang was younger, the mysteries were smaller, and everything felt lighter.
—Alex Shoemaker, Parents, 6 June 2026
But the possibility of an epochal discovery that radically changes our understanding of the universe’s history and solves one of the greatest mysteries in modern astrophysics is too alluring to ignore.
—Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American, 4 June 2026
The Mystery of the Human Brain To this day, the human brain is still among medicine’s biggest mysteries.
—Matt Emma, USA Today, 3 June 2026
Season 4 will be based on Robert Thorogood’s novel Murder on the Marlow Belle, along with new original mysteries.
—Denise Petski, Deadline, 2 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mysteries
Noun
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Bob Gray is one of the big enigmas in the book that are intentionally put there to create tension and are never solved.—
Scott Huver,
Deadline,
26 Apr. 2026
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Toss in plenty of brutal murders, bizarre prophecies, time-bending enigmas, and haunting hallucinations — all seemingly tied to Lucy’s mysterious meetings with the Hannibal Lecter-like Gideon Shepherd (Peter Capaldi) — and this one's well worth losing six hours of sleep over.—
Matt Cabral,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!—
Liza Esquibias,
USA Today,
10 June 2026
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To test that, the final group completed cognitively demanding games such as mazes and shape puzzles called tangrams that contained no academic content.—
Supreet Kaur,
Scientific American,
10 June 2026
Noun
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Critical information including intellectual property, military intelligence, medical records, and government secrets may be in danger.—
Chuck Brooks,
Forbes.com,
13 June 2026
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But when one of them is murdered, private investigator Aubrey Merritt and her assistant Olivia Blunt must unravel decades of secrets and fractured loyalties to uncover the killer.—
Kait Hanson,
Southern Living,
13 June 2026
Noun
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The machine’s repertoire included answers to 12 riddles, passages from books, and laughing, crying and kissing sounds, as well as arias sung in both male and female voices—all feats that Edison’s phonograph would one day be able to accomplish by recording and playing back the human voice.—
Ron Cowen,
Scientific American,
3 June 2026
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The New Zealand singer-songwriter wanders around inside her psychedelic folk arrangements, singing in private riddles and changing the tone of her voice from one song (or even one verse) to the next, seemingly oblivious or indifferent to your presence.—
Jayson Greene,
Pitchfork,
8 May 2026
Noun
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Liverpool’s struggles at right-back have been well-documented this season, with Alexander-Arnold’s sale to Real Madrid followed by injury problems for Bradley and new signing Jeremie Frimpong.—
Andy Jones,
New York Times,
10 June 2026
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Severe erosion in recent years means less sand buffer to safeguard the homes, erosion problems Wedge bodysurfer Sean Starky has been watching the past few years as the ocean inches closer to the homes.—
Laylan Connelly,
Oc Register,
9 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mysteries.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mysteries. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
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