Dictionary Home » Dictionary Definitions » mystery

mystery

Listen See in Thesaurus See in a sentence

Mystery is defined as something that is a secret, something where there is no clear explanation, something difficult to understand or explain or something unexplainable or unsolvable.

(noun)

An example of a mystery is the location of your Christmas presents.
An example of a mystery is whether there is proof that God exists.
An example of a mystery is how exactly people came to be.
An example of a mystery is a situation where it is unclear who committed a crime.

See mystery in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun pl. mysteries

something unexplained, unknown, or kept secret: the mystery of life
1. any thing or event that remains so secret or obscure as to excite curiosity: a murder mystery
2. a novel, story, or play involving such an event, esp. a crime and the gradual discovery of who committed it
the quality of being inexplicable; obscurity or secrecy: an air of mystery surrounding the affair
secret rites or doctrines known only to a small, esoteric group; specif., in ancient Greece, religious ceremonies or doctrines revealed only to the initiated
any of the ancient cults characterized by such ceremonies: the Eleusinian mysteries
Origin: ? infl. by mystery
mystery play
R.C.Ch.
1. a sacrament; esp. the Eucharist
2. any of fifteen events in the lives of Jesus and Mary serving as a subject for meditation during the saying of the rosary
Theol. any religious truth made known only by divine revelation and accepted through faith

Origin: ME mysterye < L mysterium (in N.T., supernatural thing) < Gr mystērion, a secret rite (in N.T., divine secret) < mystēs, one initiated into the mysteries < myein, to initiate into the mysteries, orig., to close: see myope

noun pl. mysteries

a craft or trade
guild (sense )

Origin: altered < ME misterie, a trade, craft < ML misterium, altered < L ministerium, office, occupation (see minister), by confusion with mysterium (see mystery)

See mystery in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun pl. mys·ter·ies

One that is not fully understood or that baffles or eludes the understanding; an enigma: How he got in is a mystery.
One whose identity is unknown and who arouses curiosity: The woman in the photograph is a mystery.
A mysterious character or quality: a landscape with mystery and charm.
A work of fiction, a drama, or a film dealing with a puzzling crime.
The skills, lore, or practices that are peculiar to a particular activity or group and are regarded as the special province of initiates. Often used in the plural: the mysteries of Freemasonry; the mysteries of cooking game.
A religious truth that is incomprehensible to reason and knowable only through divine revelation.
a. An incident from the life of Jesus, especially the Incarnation, Passion, Crucifixion, or Resurrection, of particular importance for redemption.
b. One of the 15 incidents from the lives of Jesus or the Blessed Virgin Mary, such as the Annunciation or the Ascension, serving in Roman Catholicism as the subject of meditation during recitation of the rosary.
a. also Mystery One of the sacraments, especially the Eucharist.
b. mysteries The consecrated elements of the Eucharist.
a. A religious cult practicing secret rites to which only initiates are admitted.
b. A secret rite of such a cult.