I. ˈn(y)ümənəs adjective
Etymology: Latin numin-, numen numen + English -ous — more at numen
1.
a. : of, relating to, or characteristic of a numen : supernatural
a single dark and numinous power ruling the world — Aldous Huxley
b. : dedicated to or hallowed by association with a deity : sacred
a numinous wood
c. : having talismanic properties : magical
all quests are concerned with some numinous object, the waters of life, the Grail, buried treasure — W.H.Auden
2.
a. : filled with a sense of the presence of divinity : holy
the holiest, most numinous moment in the Mass — the moment of transubstantiation — V.C.Aldrich
b. : inspiring reverence
as beautiful and as numinous as a cathedral — C.E.Raven
3.
a. : appealing to the higher emotions or to the aesthetic sense : spiritual
when tradition has lost its … numinous authority — George Santayana
the candle was a graceful … and numinous method of illumination — New Yorker
b. : beyond understanding or description : mysterious , incomprehensible
emphasizes the numinous aspect of writing — Times Literary Supplement
II. noun
( -es )
Etymology: German numinos, from Latin numin-, numen numen
: an unseen but majestic presence that inspires both dread and fascination and constitutes the nonrational element characteristic of vital religion : a psychic revelation of deity producing religious awe and ecstasy — usually used with the
African Bushmen, awed by the presence of the numinous at a given place … throwing a few grains into a hole in the hallowed ground — Joachim Wach
the unanimity of prophets and seers regarding their experiences of the numinous — William Telfer