See Also: mystery 1, noun(dictionary)
mystery(2)(dictionary)
mystery(1)(dictionary)
mystery tour(dictionary)
mystery play(dictionary)
mystery 2, adjective(dictionary)
MYSTERY or MISTERY(law)
mystery (as used in expressions)(encyclopedia)
mystery religion(encyclopedia)
mystery story(encyclopedia)

mystery 1, noun (oh)



[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Latin; Origin: mysterium, from Greek, from mystos 'keeping silent', from myein (of the eyes or lips) 'to be closed']
[C 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.
[U] 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.
[C 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 sth
::his introduction to the mysteries of the perfume business
[C] 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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COLLOCATES for sense 1
remain a mystery
be a mystery (to somebody)
it's a mystery
solve/unravel a mystery (=find an explanation for it)
the mystery deepens (=it becomes more difficult to understand)
a complete mystery
an unsolved mystery
be one of life's (little) mysteries (=be something that you will never understand - used humorously)