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 series follows a disparate group of people in rural Georgia who must come together in the face of a mysterious threat in order to survive.
—Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Sep. 2024
The reason this event is newsworthy one year later is that the landslide and resultant megatsunami was only just identified as the source of a mysterious seismic signal that scientists from around the world recorded.
—Carly Miller, Forbes, 23 Sep. 2024
The latest album rumors had the ring of truth: In the modern tradition of major rollouts, the band sent fans mysterious postcards, updated its social media logos, and put up an album release flyer in a pub in its Crawley hometown.
—Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 23 Sep. 2024
Read the full Aquarius Daily Horoscope Pisces (February 19 - March 20)
Is a mysterious destination calling your name?
—USA TODAY, 23 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mysterious 
Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Sep. 2024
The reason this event is newsworthy one year later is that the landslide and resultant megatsunami was only just identified as the source of a mysterious seismic signal that scientists from around the world recorded.
—Carly Miller, Forbes, 23 Sep. 2024
The latest album rumors had the ring of truth: In the modern tradition of major rollouts, the band sent fans mysterious postcards, updated its social media logos, and put up an album release flyer in a pub in its Crawley hometown.
—Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 23 Sep. 2024
Read the full Aquarius Daily Horoscope Pisces (February 19 - March 20)
Is a mysterious destination calling your name?
—USA TODAY, 23 Sep. 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 2 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share