mystique

noun

mys·​tique mi-ˈstēk 

1

: an air or attitude of mystery (see mystery entry 1 sense 1) and reverence developing around something or someone

the legendary singer's mystique

the mystique of the liturgy

2

: the special esoteric skill essential in a calling or activity

the mystique of yoga

the mystique of hang gliding

Examples of mystique in a Sentence

There's a certain mystique to people who fight fires.

No one has been able to copy the legendary singer's mystique.

the mystique of mountain climbing

Recent Examples on the Web

Such improbability is what propelled the Club 27 myth to prominence, and subsequent deaths — especially Kurt Cobain’s passing — continue to fuel its mystique, Dunivin said. —Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2024

And like any true cool kids, colonics are shrouded in an air of tangible mystique. —Tayler Adigun, Essence, 31 Oct. 2024

An ancient legend tells the story of how these majestic peaks came to be, forever linking them to the landscape’s mystique and the nearby Torghatten, Norway’s iconic mountain with the hole. —David Nikel, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024

Women and working-class men won the right to vote in the United States, Western Europe and much of East Asia after about a quarter of those populations were employed in factories, according to recent research by Sam van Noort, a lecturer at Princeton. Warehouses, by contrast, have no such mystique. —Farah Stockman, The Mercury News, 24 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, derivative of mystique, adjective, "magical, mystical," going back to Middle French, "having a hidden meaning," borrowed from Latin mysticus "secret" — more at mystic entry 1

First Known Use

1891, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

mystique

noun

mys·​tique mis-ˈtēk 

: an attitude of mystery and respect developing around something or someone

the mystique of mountain climbing