mysterious
//mɪˈstɪə̯.ɹi.əs//
Forms
- Comparative
- more mysterious
- Superlative
- most mysterious
Definitions
1.Of unknown origin.
- He received a mysterious phone call this morning.
2.Having unknown qualities.
- Our boss is a mysterious man who hardly ever meets with us.
3.Difficult to understand.
- Why he left without saying goodbye is quite mysterious.
- Buttressed by clothes, walls and objects, there was the bourgeois family, the most mysterious institution of the age.
4.Deliberately evasive or enigmatic.
- Stop being mysterious and just tell me what you want.
Frequency
Overall
Rare· #4249
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Rare
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Related words
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English *misterius (implied in misteriusly), probably partly from Middle French mystérieux and partly from Latin mystērium + -ous.
By surface analysis, mystery + -ous.