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Mystery Great Complete Bit Chose Dark Murder Religious

Word mystery
WordType (noun)
Phonetic BrE / ˈmɪstri / NAmE / ˈmɪstəri /
Example
  • it is one of the great unsolved mysteries of this century.
  • their motives remain a mystery.
  • it's a complete mystery to me why they chose him.
  • he's a bit of a mystery.
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Content

mystery

(noun)BrE / ˈmɪstri / NAmE / ˈmɪstəri /
  1. something that is difficult to understand or to explain
    • It is one of the great unsolved mysteries of this century.
    • Their motives remain a mystery.
    • It's a complete mystery to me why they chose him.
  2. a person or thing that is strange and interesting because you do not know much about them or it
    • He's a bit of a mystery.
    • There was a mystery guest on the programme.
    • The band was financed by a mystery backer.
    • a mystery tour (= when you do not know where you are going)
  3. the quality of being difficult to understand or to explain, especially when this makes somebody/something seem interesting and exciting
    • Mystery surrounds her disappearance.
    • His past is shrouded in mystery (= not much is known about it).
    • The dark glasses give her an air of mystery.
    • She’s a woman of mystery.
  4. a story, a film/movie or a play in which crimes and strange events are only explained at the end
    • I enjoy murder mysteries.
  5. secret religious ceremonies; secret knowledge
    • the teacher who initiated me into the mysteries of mathematics
  6. a religious belief that cannot be explained or proved in a scientific way
    • the mystery of creation

    Extra Examples

    • He had found the clue to unlock the whole mystery
    • He is the author of several murder mysteries.
    • Her blue eyes had a certain mystery.
    • Her poetry attempts to penetrate the dark mystery of death.
    • How the disease started is one of medicine’s great mysteries.
    • How these insects actually communicate presents something of a mystery.
    • It remains a mystery as to where he was buried.
    • It was easy to believe that the house held some great mystery.
    • Modern weather forecasts try to take the mystery out of meteorology.
    • My sister is a complete mystery to me.
    • Mystery remains over who will star in the film.
    • She pondered the mystery of the disappearing thief.
    • She was a total mystery to him despite their long association.
    • The mystery deepened when the police’s only suspect was found murdered.
    • The police are close to solving the mystery of the missing murder weapon.
    • The silence has deepened the mystery surrounding his work.
    • The whole incident was shrouded in mystery.
    • The witness could shed no light on the mystery of the deceased’s identity.
    • Their suspect was a mystery man: a quiet, happily married man with no enemies.
    • There’s a bit of a mystery about this child.
    • Wearing dark glasses gives him an air of mystery.
    • a place of deep mystery and enchantment
    • one of life’s little mysteries
    • the central mystery of the story
    • the mystery surrounding her resignation
    • He’s a bit of a mystery.
    • It’s a complete mystery to me why they chose him.
    • Next on the programme, Dan Green takes us on a magical mystery tour of Cumbria’s music scene.
    • a mystery caller
    • a mystery disease/illness/virus
    • a mystery man/woman

    Word Origin

    • Middle English (in the sense ‘mystic presence, hidden religious symbolism’): from Old French mistere or Latin mysterium, from Greek mustērion; related to mystic.
Copyright This card's content is collected from the following dictionaries: Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

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