I. mys ‧ te ‧ ry 1 W3 /ˈmɪst ə ri/ BrE AmE noun ( plural mysteries )
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: mysterium , from Greek , from mystos 'keeping silent' , from myein (of the eyes or lips) 'to be closed' ]
1 . [countable usually singular] an event, situation etc that people do not understand or cannot explain because they do not know enough about it:
Twenty years after the event, his death remains a mystery.
The way her mind worked was always a mystery to him.
‘Why did he do it?’ ‘I don’t know. It’s a complete mystery.’
The police never solved the mystery of Gray’s disappearance.
But why would anyone want to kill Jack? The mystery deepened.
What happened to the paintings after that is an unsolved mystery.
I don’t know how he got the job – it’s one of life’s little mysteries.
How life began on Earth is one of the great mysteries of science.
2 . [uncountable] the quality that something or someone has when they seem strange, secret, or difficult to understand or explain:
Her dark glasses gave her an air of mystery.
Annie knew that there was some mystery surrounding her birth.
be shrouded/veiled in mystery
The circumstances of his death were veiled in mystery.
3 . [countable usually plural] a subject, activity etc that is very complicated, secret, or difficult to understand, and that people want to learn about
the mysteries of something
his introduction to the mysteries of the perfume business
4 . [countable] ( also murder mystery ) a story, film, or play about a murder, in which you are not told who the murderer is until the end:
an Agatha Christie mystery
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COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 1)
■ verbs
▪ be a mystery
It’s a mystery how he got my phone number.
▪ remain a mystery
What caused the accident remains a mystery.
▪ solve/unravel a mystery (=find out what happened)
The children were given the clues and had to try to solve the mystery.
▪ the mystery deepens (=it becomes more difficult to understand)
Why would he run away if he were not guilty? The mystery deepens.
▪ the mystery surrounding something
Research has unravelled much of the mystery surrounding the ageing process.
■ adjectives
▪ a complete/total mystery
She said that her husband’s disappearance was a complete mystery.
▪ an unsolved mystery
What happened to her is still an unsolved mystery.
▪ a great mystery (=a big and important mystery)
It is one of the great mysteries of science.
▪ a little/minor mystery
It was a minor mystery how the file had survived the fire.
▪ a big mystery
If they are right, they have solved one of the biggest mysteries in astronomy.
■ phrases
▪ something is one of life’s (little) mysteries (=it is something that you will never understand – used humorously)
Where socks disappear to after they’ve been washed is one of life’s little mysteries.
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COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)
■ verbs
▪ be shrouded/veiled in mystery (=be unable to be explained)
The origins of this tradition remain shrouded in mystery.
▪ mystery surrounds something (=something cannot be explained)
Mystery has always surrounded the purpose of the great stone circle of Stonehenge.
■ adjectives
▪ deep mystery (=big and important mystery)
the deep mystery of the human mind
▪ great mystery
We wondered about the great mystery of death.
■ phrases
▪ an element of mystery (=part of something that seems mysterious)
There is an element of mystery and miracle in the process.
▪ an air of mystery (=something that seems mysterious)
There was an air of mystery about him.
▪ a sense of mystery (=a feeling that something is mysterious)
The garden had hidden corners that gave it a sense of mystery.
II. mystery 2 BrE AmE adjective [only before noun]
used to describe someone or something that people do not recognize or know anything about, especially when this causes great interest
mystery man/woman
Who was the mystery woman spotted on board the yacht with the prince?
a mystery virus