1
as in mysterious
being beyond one's powers to know, understand, or explain
the occult ways in which the human mind works
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2
as in ambiguous
having an often intentionally veiled or uncertain meaning
an occult reference in the text that has puzzled scholars ever since
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3
as in magic
having seemingly supernatural qualities or powers
Great Britain's Stonehenge is one of those occult places where people expect something of cosmic significance to happen
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as in to obscure
to keep secret or shut off from view
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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of occult
Hank Shteamer, SPIN, 24 Jan. 2023
It’s a determinedly non-jokey supernatural thriller in which a group of Adelaide teens get in way over their heads playing an occult party game.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 22 Jan. 2023
Joe Rao, Space.com, 19 July 2025
From parts of the Pacific and northern South America, the moon will occult Mars for about an hour, according to In-The-Sky.org.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for occult
Adjective
Speaking of infernal-sounding, pay close attention around the 4:30 mark here, and witness the occult-metal mastery of Mercyful Fate riffsmith Hank Shermann, abetted by his trusty partner Michael Denner.
—Hank Shteamer, SPIN, 24 Jan. 2023
It’s a determinedly non-jokey supernatural thriller in which a group of Adelaide teens get in way over their heads playing an occult party game.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 22 Jan. 2023
Verb
Below are two timetables giving local circumstances for the disappearance and reappearance of the four brightest members of the Pleiades that will be occulted.
—Joe Rao, Space.com, 19 July 2025
From parts of the Pacific and northern South America, the moon will occult Mars for about an hour, according to In-The-Sky.org.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for occult
Recent Examples of Synonyms for occult
Adjective
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In an effort to help the group retrieve it, Guy encounters William Fitchner’s Jasper, a mysterious American who has quietly assumed control and influence over the Talamasca’s London Motherhouse.—
Abbey White,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Sep. 2025
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Released in 2004, the film follows Sophie, a quiet girl working in a hat shop, who finds her life thrown into turmoil when she is literally swept off her feet by a handsome but mysterious wizard named Howl.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The first three episodes currently streaming on Paramount+ reveal that the Tiva dynamic remains as ambiguous as ever.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Sep. 2025
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The term has become both expansive and ambiguous.—
Lauren Buitta,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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That was magic, but that magic is gone.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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Boston’s playoff magic number, or the combined number of Red Sox wins and losses by the last team out needed to clinch a playoff berth, is currently 13.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Senate Bill 627, for example, would prohibit law enforcement agents from covering their faces to obscure their identity, carving out exceptions for SWAT teams and undercover officers.—
Barnini Chakraborty,
The Washington Examiner,
3 Sep. 2025
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In those interviews, the faces of victims were obscured to protect their identities.—
Hannah Parry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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These fish, known for their cryptic behavior, were identified as a neonative species, expanding their range naturally.—
Real-Time News team,
Miami Herald,
5 Sep. 2025
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Ars reached out to Google for an explanation, receiving a cryptic and somewhat unsatisfying reply.—
Ryan Whitwam,
ArsTechnica,
4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Yet Blanc’s real faith lies in the nearly mystic quality involved in seeing what the human animal is capable of.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
7 Sep. 2025
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Yeats’s spirals, once dismissed as the wild diagrams of a mystic, now settle over this place like soot.—
Alaa Alqaisi
August 13,
Literary Hub,
13 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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One such factor might be the user awareness of AI, gauged by their literacy about AI and the assigning of a magical aura to AI.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
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The sound of K-pop also hums through the other magical elements of the film, especially HUNTR/X’s weapons and the strange familiars that Rumi and Ji-noo (Ahn Hyo-seop) use to communicate with each other across enemy lines.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The student allegedly admitted to taking the gun on Sunday while his uncle was in the shower and then bringing it onto the bus concealed in his pocket, according to the affidavit.—
Meredith Deliso,
ABC News,
8 Sep. 2025
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She is charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant, the Lexington Police Department said in a news release.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Occult.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/occult. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.
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