1
as in cryptic
being beyond one's powers to know, understand, or explain
the huge stone statues on Easter Island are ancient, mysterious, and haunting
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ambiguous
having an often intentionally veiled or uncertain meaning
the stranger's mysterious prediction
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mysterious
Cornman arrived in Colorado just as the airlines were confronting a series of mysterious crashes.
—
Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
Robert Garrett still waits The mysterious absence of Crenshaw football coach Robert Garrett continues.
—Eric Sondheimer
columnist
follow, Los Angeles Times, 2 Mar. 2026
Some are covered in oceans, some erupt with lava, and others hide mysterious subsurface seas that could potentially support life.
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 1 Mar. 2026
In late 2025 a mysterious comet flew between the orbits of Earth and Mars and reached a speed of more than 150,000 miles per hour during its closest approach to the sun.
—Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 28 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for mysterious
Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
Robert Garrett still waits The mysterious absence of Crenshaw football coach Robert Garrett continues.
—Eric Sondheimer
columnist
follow, Los Angeles Times, 2 Mar. 2026
Some are covered in oceans, some erupt with lava, and others hide mysterious subsurface seas that could potentially support life.
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 1 Mar. 2026
In late 2025 a mysterious comet flew between the orbits of Earth and Mars and reached a speed of more than 150,000 miles per hour during its closest approach to the sun.
—Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 28 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for mysterious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mysterious
Adjective
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But others — that triangle, for example — are more cryptic.—
The Washington Post,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 Feb. 2026
-
That cryptic comment came amid widespread speculation about the future of Brown, who expressed his frustrations with the Eagles’ inconsistent pass offense during the season.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
25 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
There was a short period, near the end of a messy, deeply ambiguous night of football at the Parc des Princes, that could have come directly from May 2025, plucked from the timeline and placed here, a little winter gift from the sporting gods.—
Jack Lang,
New York Times,
26 Feb. 2026
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However, because the Supreme Court ruling did not explicitly mandate whether the Treasury must pay back the collected tariff revenue, the path to recovering those funds remains legally ambiguous.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
23 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
And with a new and enigmatic Duke at the helm, Tintagel is also facing an uncertain future.—
Mekishana Pierre,
Entertainment Weekly,
27 Feb. 2026
-
As Bartleby, the soft-spoken, expressionless and enigmatic Michael Crane becomes a cipher, gradually disappearing from the world in plain sight.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Labrum presented a global outlook with block-print denim suits and dark wash denim coordinates embellished with oversized brooches and unconventional hardware.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
3 Mar. 2026
-
For best results, use a dark or espresso roast, use the smallest cup setting available and use the strongest brew setting.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
At Barclays Center, Florence + the Machine gather participants to complete the spell-casting circle of their mystic and witchy art-pop (April 21-22, 24).—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
27 Feb. 2026
-
The language has mystic overtones and rhythmic sections; it might be better felt than understood.—
Sarah Hepola,
Dallas Morning News,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The difference is that Fedorova isn’t merely half aware of the obscure sources of her own thrills but obsessed by them.—
Lillian Fishman,
New Yorker,
25 Feb. 2026
-
These aren’t obscure selections.—
Ryan Brennan,
Charlotte Observer,
25 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The panoramic production from Richie Souf, the veteran architect behind some of the most uncanny tracks in Future’s catalog, provides the necessary curveballs for this synthesis of styles to truly land.—
Serge Selenou,
Pitchfork,
3 Mar. 2026
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Meanwhile, virtual modeling and, albeit to a lesser extent, humanoid robotics are slowly breaking through the uncanny valley — our instinctive distrust of things that look and act almost like human beings but not quite.—
Tim Brinkhof,
Big Think,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Marble bathrooms come with deep soaking tubs and separate rainfall showers.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
27 Feb. 2026
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The skier apparently tumbled into a six-foot deep drift of soft snow and sank, Schmidt said.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacbee.com,
27 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mysterious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mysterious. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.
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