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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in ambiguity
the quality or state of being impossible to know, understand, or explain
the mysteriousness of the nocturnal noises evaporated with the arrival of daybreak
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ambiguousness
the quality or state of having a veiled or uncertain meaning
the unexpected mysteriousness of the phone message had them a little concerned
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mysterious
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 18 Aug. 2025
Written and directed by Natasha Kermani, The Dreadful follows outsider Anne (Turner) as her life is turned upside down after the arrival of a mysterious man from her past.
—EW.com, 15 Aug. 2025
The dark comedy, directed by Ethan Coen, follows a small-town investigator who seeks answers on a series of mysterious deaths linked to a church.
—Brenton Blanchet, People.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Sometimes an oven is like that mysterious black box on a magician's stage where odd things go in, and something far more delightful comes out.
—Sheri Castle, Southern Living, 7 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mysterious
Adjective
Beyond the familiar planets lies a fascinating frontier filled with icy worlds, mysterious orbits, and cosmic curiosities.
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 18 Aug. 2025
Written and directed by Natasha Kermani, The Dreadful follows outsider Anne (Turner) as her life is turned upside down after the arrival of a mysterious man from her past.
—EW.com, 15 Aug. 2025
The dark comedy, directed by Ethan Coen, follows a small-town investigator who seeks answers on a series of mysterious deaths linked to a church.
—Brenton Blanchet, People.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Sometimes an oven is like that mysterious black box on a magician's stage where odd things go in, and something far more delightful comes out.
—Sheri Castle, Southern Living, 7 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mysterious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mysterious
Adjective
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However, it was discovered earlier this week that a recent, almost silent, filing with the SEC suggests their next frontier is something far more cryptic.—
Emma Kershaw,
Forbes.com,
21 Aug. 2025
-
Since Parsons, who is seeking a lucrative new contract, asked for a trade this month, Jones has regularly held media briefings during the team's preseason practices and offered cryptic updates.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
19 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Whether the death was self-inflicted or by accident is ambiguous.—
Bryan West,
The Tennessean,
15 Aug. 2025
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The Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision eliminated Chevron deference, sharply curtailing agencies’ ability to interpret ambiguous laws.—
AJ Dhaliwal,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
A couple have also appeared under different reference and serial number ranges, albeit there has been more ambiguity about their originality.—
Thomas Wójtowicz,
Forbes.com,
26 Aug. 2025
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The move never happened, and there remains ambiguity to this day as to why.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The pic centers on Ali (Ekin Koç), a university professor who is haunted by the suspicious death of his ailing mother and coerces his enigmatic gardener to execute a cold-blooded act of vengeance.—
Patrick Hipes,
Deadline,
26 Aug. 2025
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Every card is rich with symbolism: adorned with pentacles, stars, chalices and wands; bearing names like the World, Justice and Temperance; and featuring enigmatic characters like the Fool, the Lovers or the Hermit.—
Isabela Raygoza,
Billboard,
25 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Sydney Sweeney’s new dark crime comedy Americana is new in theaters this weekend.—
Tim Lammers,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
-
Flames and dark smoke billowed over a cement factory that was set alight by a wildfire that swept through olive groves and forests and disrupted rail traffic on the outskirts of the Greek city of Patras, west of Athens.—
USA Today,
USA Today,
14 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Familiar and reassuring, cozy mysteries aren’t called that for nothing.—
Caryn James,
HollywoodReporter,
22 Aug. 2025
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Since her legal issues with Baldoni began, Lively starred in May's Another Simple Favor, a sequel to her 2018 mystery, also from Lionsgate.—
Raechal Shewfelt,
EW.com,
22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The old woman put her feet together and leaned forward at an angle and placed her forehead squarely on the Kraków Chakra, where the mystic energy of the world was thought to be both most intense and most accessible to human beings.—
Zadie Smith,
New Yorker,
30 June 2025
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Freddy strays a little too close to the stereotype of a mystic savant; Michelle makes some rash and drastic decisions that beggar belief.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
28 June 2025
Adjective
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None of these drinks require obscure syrups, a blowtorch or a $70 shaker.—
Emily Price,
Forbes.com,
27 Aug. 2025
-
His late-night attempt to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook—citing obscure allegations of mortgage fraud—has now forced the courts into uncharted territory, testing whether a president can legally purge central bank officials who resist him.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
26 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mysterious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mysterious. Accessed 1 Sep. 2025.
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