mysterious
adjective
mys·te·ri·ous
mi-ˈstir-ē-əs 
1
a
: of, relating to, or constituting mystery
the mysterious ways of God
b
: exciting wonder, curiosity, or surprise while baffling efforts to comprehend or identify : mystifying
heard a mysterious noise
a mysterious stranger
a mysterious plane crash
a mysterious illness
2
: stirred by or attracted to the inexplicable
… to help a mysterious wizard … ward off the end of the world with blood sacrifices.—
Robert Houston
Robert Houston
mysteriousness
noun
Synonyms
Examples of mysterious in a Sentence
the mysterious ways of nature
We heard a mysterious noise outside our tent.
He died under mysterious circumstances.
A mysterious illness has been spreading through the city.
There's something mysterious about that old woman.
Her behavior was very mysterious.
Recent Examples on the Web
The circumstances of his death are still mysterious.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2024
Venus in Sagittarius is lighting a fire in the most mysterious area of your chart — your eighth house of intimate affairs and transformative experiences.
—Valerie Mesa, People.com, 17 Oct. 2024
To have the kind of transparency and vulnerability that allows such immediate access to the eternal, mysterious energy requires a great deal from the artist.
—Lauren Groff, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2024
In addition to illuminating geological processes deep inside Earth, the cold, descending slab of dense rock, located some 410 to 660 kilometers below the planet’s surface, could explain a mysterious gap between two sections of a giant blob in the mantle layer.
—Jeanna Bryner, Scientific American, 17 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mysterious 
Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2024
Venus in Sagittarius is lighting a fire in the most mysterious area of your chart — your eighth house of intimate affairs and transformative experiences.
—Valerie Mesa, People.com, 17 Oct. 2024
To have the kind of transparency and vulnerability that allows such immediate access to the eternal, mysterious energy requires a great deal from the artist.
—Lauren Groff, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2024
In addition to illuminating geological processes deep inside Earth, the cold, descending slab of dense rock, located some 410 to 660 kilometers below the planet’s surface, could explain a mysterious gap between two sections of a giant blob in the mantle layer.
—Jeanna Bryner, Scientific American, 17 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mysterious
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mysterious.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near mysterious
Cite this Entry
“Mysterious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mysterious. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
mysterious
adjective
mys·te·ri·ous
mis-ˈtir-ē-əs
: containing, suggesting, or presenting a mystery
mysterious noises
also
: difficult or impossible to understand
the mysterious ways of nature
mysteriously
adverb
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