MYSTERY: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for MYSTERY?

Need another word that means the same as “mystery”? Find 21 synonyms and 30 related words for “mystery” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Mystery” are: enigma, secret, mystery story, whodunit, puzzle, conundrum, riddle, problem, question, question mark, secrecy, darkness, obscurity, ambiguity, uncertainty, impenetrability, vagueness, thriller, detective novel, detective story, murder story

Mystery as a Noun

Definitions of "Mystery" as a noun

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “mystery” as a noun can have the following definitions:

• A novel, play, or film dealing with a puzzling crime, especially a murder.
• Something that is difficult or impossible to understand or explain.
• Secrecy or obscurity.
• A religious belief based on divine revelation, especially one regarded as beyond human understanding.
• The secret rites of Greek and Roman pagan religion, or of any ancient or tribal religion, to which only initiates are admitted.
• The Christian Eucharist.
• The practices, skills, or lore peculiar to a particular trade or activity and regarded as baffling to those without specialized knowledge.
• Something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained.
• A story about a crime (usually murder) presented as a novel or play or movie.
• A person or thing whose identity or nature is puzzling or unknown.
• An incident in the life of Jesus or of a saint as a focus of devotion in the Roman Catholic Church, especially each of those commemorated during recitation of successive decades of the rosary.

Synonyms of "Mystery" as a noun (21 Words)

ambiguity	An expression whose meaning cannot be determined from its context. We can detect no ambiguity in this section of the Act.
conundrum	A question asked for amusement, typically one with a pun in its answer; a riddle. One of the most difficult conundrums for the experts.
darkness	The quality of being dark in colour. The office was in darkness.
detective novel	A police officer who investigates crimes.
detective story	An investigator engaged or employed in obtaining information not easily available to the public.
enigma	A person or thing that is mysterious or difficult to understand. Madeleine was still an enigma to him.
impenetrability	Incomprehensibility by virtue of being too dense to understand.
murder story	Unlawful premeditated killing of a human being by a human being.
mystery story	A story about a crime (usually murder) presented as a novel or play or movie.
obscurity	The state of being unknown, inconspicuous, or unimportant. He is too good a player to slide into obscurity.
problem	A state of difficulty that needs to be resolved. What s the problem.
puzzle	A jigsaw puzzle. The meaning of the poem has always been a puzzle.
question	An instance of questioning. He asked a direct question.
question mark	An informal reference to a marriage proposal.
riddle	A question or statement intentionally phrased so as to require ingenuity in ascertaining its answer or meaning. The riddle of her death.
secrecy	The trait of keeping things secret. The bidding is conducted in secrecy.
secret	Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others. The secret of Cajun cooking.
thriller	A very exciting contest or experience. A seven goal thriller.
uncertainty	The state of being uncertain. The uncertainty of the outcome.
vagueness	Lack of preciseness in thought or communication. The Conservative manifesto is a model of vagueness.
whodunit	A story about a crime (usually murder) presented as a novel or play or movie.

Usage Examples of "Mystery" as a noun

• A mystery guest.
• The 1920s murder mystery, The Ghost Train.
• What happened after he left home that day remains a mystery.
• ‘He's a bit of a mystery,’ said Nina.
• The mysteries of analytical psychology.
• The first Sorrowful Mystery, the Agony in the Garden.
• How it got out is a mystery.
• Much of her past is shrouded in mystery.
• The mysteries of outer space.
• The mystery of Christ.

Associations of "Mystery" (30 Words)

abstruse	Difficult to understand; obscure. The professor s lectures were so abstruse that students tended to avoid them.
abysmal	Very great; limitless. Waterfalls that plunge into abysmal depths.
arcane	Requiring secret or mysterious knowledge. The arcane science of dowsing.
conundrum	A confusing and difficult problem or question. One of the most difficult conundrums for the experts.
cryptic	Having a secret or hidden meaning. Cryptic plumage is thought to minimize predation.
cryptogram	A symbol or figure with secret or occult significance.
enigma	A person or thing that is mysterious or difficult to understand. Madeleine was still an enigma to him.
enigmatic	Not clear to the understanding. An enigmatic smile.
esoterica	Esoteric or highly specialized subjects or publications. A professor of such esoterica as angelology and comparative shamanism.
incomprehensible	Not able to be understood; not intelligible. A language which is incomprehensible to anyone outside the office.
inscrutable	Of an obscure nature- Rachel. Guy looked blankly inscrutable.
miracle	Any amazing or wonderful occurrence. A machine which was a miracle of design.
mysterious	Having an import not apparent to the senses nor obvious to the intelligence; beyond ordinary understanding. The new insurance policy is written without cryptic or mysterious terms.
mythical	Occurring in or characteristic of myths or folk tales. A mythical age of contentment and social order.
occult	Having an import not apparent to the senses nor obvious to the intelligence; beyond ordinary understanding. The lids were occulting her eyes.
preternatural	Existing outside of or not in accordance with nature. Autumn had arrived with preternatural speed.
problem	A source of difficulty. Practitioners help families develop strategies for managing problem behaviour in teens.
puzzle	A jigsaw puzzle. She was trying to puzzle out who the speakers were.
puzzling	Lacking clarity of meaning; causing confusion or perplexity. Only one very puzzling question remains unanswered.
recondite	(of a subject or knowledge) little known; abstruse. Some recondite problem in historiography.
riddle	Speak in riddles. They started asking riddles and telling jokes.
secret	Given in confidence or in secret. A secret agent.
solve	Find the solution. The policy could solve the town s housing crisis.
superhuman	Above or beyond the human or demanding more than human power or endurance. Superhuman beings.
tantalize	Torment or tease (someone) with the sight or promise of something that is unobtainable. Such ambitious questions have long tantalized the world s best thinkers.
unaccountable	Not to be accounted for or explained. He was not only the most charismatic man she d ever met but also the most complex and unaccountable.
unfathomable	Incapable of being fully explored or understood. Her grey eyes were dark with some unfathomable emotion.
unresolved	Characterized by musical dissonance harmonically unresolved. Many problems remain unresolved.
unsolved	Not solved. An unsolved mystery.
whodunit	A story about a crime (usually murder) presented as a novel or play or movie.