INDEX:
1. strange and difficult to explain or understand
2. happening in a mysterious way
3. a mysterious situation
4. people that are mysterious
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ STRANGE
↑ UNUSUAL
↑ SOLVE
↑ UNDERSTAND/NOT UNDERSTAND
↑ MAGIC
↑ GHOST
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1. strange and difficult to explain or understand
▷ mysterious /mɪˈstɪ ə riəs/ [adjective]
events, behaviour, or situations that are mysterious are difficult to explain or understand :
▪ Police are investigating the mysterious disappearance of a young schoolteacher.
▪ He was seen leaving the building at midnight with two men -- it was all very mysterious.
▪ She had been suffering from mysterious fits for five years before the doctors diagnosed epilepsy.
in mysterious circumstances
▪ The ship vanished in mysterious circumstances, never to be seen again.
▷ strange /streɪndʒ/ [adjective]
very different from what you expect or from what usually happens, in a way that makes you feel a little frightened or surprised :
▪ You say she’s at home? That’s strange because she told me she was going abroad for two weeks.
▪ His strange behaviour made Teresa suspicious.
it is strange that
▪ It was strange that she had had this baby with red hair when both she and her husband were very dark.
▷ be a mystery /biː ə ˈmɪst ə ri/ [verb phrase]
if something is a mystery, you cannot understand how or why it happens :
▪ How had he escaped from prison without anyone’s help? It was a mystery.
it’s a mystery (to me) why/what etc
▪ It is a mystery to me why people decide to get married.
be a complete mystery
▪ Four years after the event, the scientist’s suicide remains a complete mystery.
▷ be shrouded/veiled in mystery /ˌʃraʊdɪd, ˌʃraʊdəd, ˌveɪld ɪn ˈmɪst ə ri/ [verb phrase]
if an event or a situation, especially one that happened a long time ago, is shrouded in mystery, it is mysterious because no one knows exactly what happened :
▪ The exact circumstances of Marilyn Monroe’s death are shrouded in mystery.
▪ Stone age civilization, veiled in mystery as it is, has provided the greatest challenge to historians.
2. happening in a mysterious way
▷ mysteriously /mɪˈstɪ ə riəsli/ [adverb]
▪ The letter had mysteriously appeared on my desk that morning.
▪ Joseph was mysteriously absent from work that morning.
▪ The aircraft had disappeared mysteriously from radar screens.
▷ strangely /ˈstreɪndʒli/ [adjective]
in a way that is very different from what you expect or from what usually happens, so that you feel a little frightened or surprised :
▪ He looked at me strangely and said that he would come back later.
▪ When we returned to the hotel we found the place strangely silent.
▷ as if by magic /əz ˌɪf baɪ ˈmædʒɪk/ [adverb]
if something happens as if by magic, it happens in a sudden and surprising way that seems impossible to explain :
▪ The mysterious circles appeared in the fields overnight, as if by magic.
▪ I was just wondering how I could get home, when suddenly, as if by magic, a taxi pulled up.
3. a mysterious situation
▷ mystery /ˈmɪst ə ri/ [countable noun]
an event or situation that no one can understand or explain :
mystery of
▪ No one has ever been able to explain the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle.
be a mystery to somebody
▪ It’s a mystery to me how Gayle managed to get here before us.
mystery illness/crash/phonecall etc
▪ Ten firemen were in hospital with a mystery illness last night.
unravel/solve a mystery
find an explanation for a mystery
▪ Police are still trying to unravel the mystery of how the prisoner managed to escape.
the mystery deepens
something becomes more difficult to explain
▪ The mystery deepens as more witnesses come forward to tell different stories.
▷ enigma /ɪˈnɪgmə/ [countable noun]
a situation that is difficult to understand or explain, and that is interesting because of this :
▪ As I studied more about their past, I became more puzzled, and the enigma expanded.
be something of an enigma
▪ It is something of an enigma how a man who could not bear to hurt a living thing could serve as defence secretary.
▷ riddle /ˈrɪdl/ [countable noun]
something such as a question or a problem that people do not understand and cannot explain :
riddle of
▪ Doctors have found a new clue to the riddle of cot death.
solve a riddle
▪ Other interviewers who have met Geri have tried to solve the riddle of her success.
be a riddle to somebody
▪ Why would Ian want to claim his inheritance and then give all his money away? It was a riddle to me.
▷ puzzle /ˈpʌz ə l/ [countable noun]
something that is very difficult to understand or explain but which can sometimes be explained by putting pieces of information together :
▪ The police have almost solved the case but one important piece of the puzzle is still missing: the murder weapon.
solve a puzzle
▪ In 1953 the intricate puzzle of DNA’s structure was solved in a Cambridge laboratory.
4. people that are mysterious
▷ mysterious /mɪˈstɪ ə riəs/ [adjective]
if someone is mysterious, other people do not know much about them and do not understand their reasons for doing things :
▪ You are a mysterious girl -- why won’t you tell me your name?
▪ There was something mysterious about him, and she wanted to ask him a lot of questions.
▪ He was an impostor -- dark, frightening and mysterious.
▷ enigmatic /ˌenɪgˈmætɪk◂/ [adjective]
if someone is enigmatic it is difficult to understand their character or behaviour, especially because they keep information about themselves secret :
▪ He was fascinated by the enigmatic actress.
▪ Freud remains today an enigmatic figure.
▪ Ever since the start of the journey Ahamado had remained enigmatic, silent and unforthcoming.
enigmatically [adverb]
▪ Angela smiled enigmatically, as if she knew something that we didn’t.
▷ be a mystery /biː ə ˈmɪst ə ri/ [verb phrase]
if someone is a mystery, you cannot explain or understand their behaviour :
be a mystery to
▪ Women are a complete mystery to me.
▷ enigma /ɪˈnɪgmə/ [countable noun]
someone who is difficult to understand, and is therefore interesting :
▪ Madeleine was still very much an enigma to him.