mystery1 nounmystery2 adjective
mysterymys‧te‧ry1 /ˈmɪstəri/ ●●● W3 noun (plural mysteries) 
WORD ORIGINmystery
Origin:
1300-1400 Latin mysterium, from Greek, from mystos ‘keeping silent’, from myein (of the eyes or lips) ‘to be closed’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- It's a mystery to me how Gayle managed to get here before us.
- No one has ever been able to explain the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle.
- Police are still trying to unravel the mystery of how the prisoner managed to escape.
- Scientists continue to unravel the mysteries of human genes.
- Sue Grafton's mysteries sell very well.
- Ten firemen were in hospital with a mystery illness last night.
- The mystery deepens as more witnesses come forward to tell different stories.
- The writer's identity is a mystery, but he is thought to be Spanish.
- As for the mystery guest, all I can say is it will be a magician in a box.
- Collins creates a gripping picture of slow-moving, small-town life, and packs it into a treat of a murder mystery.
- Corbett viewed the mystery as a logical problem.
- In the subway one faced the eternal mystery of lust and desire.
- The mystery remains unresolved as twilight turns to total blackness.
- You took the job with him simply to clear up a mystery.
Longman Language Activatora mysterious situation
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.
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.
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.
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.
people that are mysterious 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.
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.
if someone is a mystery , you cannot explain or understand their behaviour: be a mystery to: · Women are a complete mystery to me.
someone who is difficult to understand, and is therefore interesting: · Madeleine was still very much an enigma to him.
strange and difficult to explain or understand 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.
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.
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.
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.
to not understand · They didn't understand a single word she said.· Tell me if you don't understand.· She thought about getting a divorce, but she knew her children would never understand.· He made a few references to the CIA and national security, which Wilson did not understand.not understand why/how/what/where · I really can't understand why so many people like her music.
also can't makes heads or tails (out) of American informal to be unable to understand something at all because it is very complicated or confusing: · I just can't make head or tail of this train timetable.· I couldn't make head or tail of this book, and had real trouble finishing it.· Consumers can't always make heads or tails out of the way nutrition is labeled on a food package.
to be much too complicated or technical for someone to understand: · It was obvious from her expression that what I was saying was over her head.be way/completely over somebody's head: · I went to the lecture, but it was way over my head.
to be involved in a situation or activity which is too difficult for you to understand: · She was out of her depth in the advanced class, so they moved her to the intermediate class.be way/completely out of your depth: · I tried to read the report, but I was way out of my depth.
to still not understand something after someone has tried to explain it to you: · I've read the manual but I'm still none the wiser.leave somebody none the wiser: · His explanations of how it worked left me none the wiser.
spoken to not understand the reason for something: don't/can't see why/how/what/where: · I didn't see how they could sell it so cheaply.· I can't see why you think it's any of your business.
spoken say this when you cannot understand why something happens or how someone does something, and you find it very surprising: be a mystery to me/be beyond me/beats me how/what/why etc: · It's a mystery to me how he can get so much work done in such a short time.· Why anyone would willingly do that job is beyond me.it beats me/it's beyond me etc.: · "Why does she stay with her husband then?" "It beats me."
you say I can't think or I can't imagine how or why someone does something when you cannot think of any reasonable explanation why someone should do it, and are very surprised that they do: I can't think/can't imagine why/how etc: · He wants to join the army -- I can't think why.· How such a stupid man ever got to be a politician, I just can't imagine.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Meaning 1verbs
The building retains an aura of mystery. The talks have been cloaked in secrecy. The incident has always been shrouded in mystery.
· It’s a mystery how he got my phone number.
· What caused the accident remains a mystery.
(=find out what happened)· The children were given the clues and had to try to solve the mystery.
(=it becomes more difficult to understand)· Why would he run away if he were not guilty? The mystery deepens.
· Research has unravelled much of the mystery surrounding the ageing process.
adjectives· She said that her husband’s disappearance was a complete mystery.
· What happened to her is still an unsolved mystery.
(=a big and important mystery)· It is one of the great mysteries of science.
· It was a minor mystery how the file had survived the fire.
· If they are right, they have solved one of the biggest mysteries in astronomy.
phrases (=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.
Meaning 2verbs (=be unable to be explained)· The origins of this tradition remain shrouded in mystery.
(=something cannot be explained)· Mystery has always surrounded the purpose of the great stone circle of Stonehenge.
adjectives (=big and important mystery)· the deep mystery of the human mind
· We wondered about the great mystery of death.
phrases (=part of something that seems mysterious)· There is an element of mystery and miracle in the process.
(=something that seems mysterious)· There was an air of mystery about him.
(=a feeling that something is mysterious)· The garden had hidden corners that gave it a sense of mystery.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES The building retains an aura of mystery. The talks have been cloaked in secrecy. The incident has always been shrouded in mystery.· Staff at the library think they have solved the mystery.
· The movie is based on a story by science-fiction writer Phillip K. Dick.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE· But, surely one of the biggest mysteries is Morse, the man himself.· Genetics is a big mystery to me.· It was all a big mystery to me, we were made to wear blue ties, white shirts and blue trousers.· The effects on astronauts of years in microgravity are the biggest mystery to researchers.
· It is a complete mystery to everyone how the following gems came to light in 1989.· With the stakes so high, the lack of atmosphere on the terraces in the first half was a complete mystery.· It's been a complete mystery to me ever since I arrived here.· When all the evidence is added up, the Sirven case remains a complete mystery.· How the hell my pack of jokers has managed two wins out of two is a complete mystery.
· The craft of writing, the business of publishing, the great mystery of literary success remained to be pursued.· And this was an edifice that would house the greatest mystery of all: wine into blood, bread into flesh.· If you leave it out, you are left with a great evolution mystery.· Even the individual stones can carry great mystery.· Perhaps one day some one in the know will explain in great detail the mysteries of Blea Moor Tunnel.· This is something of a mystery - but there is a greater mystery involved.· Thus the geodynamo remains as one of the great mysteries of the earth.
· She liked to keep a little mystery in a relationship where possible.· A white sloop moved upriver in the dark, a little mystery of grace and stealth.· He was Sorcerer, after all, and what was love without a little mystery?
· They were part of the Cicero Club, a society which met once a month or so to discuss famous unsolved mysteries.· This book collects together what I consider to be some of the major unsolved mysteries of science.· What happened to this piece is still an unsolved mystery.· For the time being, the Phaistos Disc remains an unsolved mystery.· To this day Devon Loch's collapse remains one of the Turfs greatest unsolved mysteries.
NOUN· In any case, Gillian has invited a mystery man to share the cottage in Witham Friary, Somerset.· A mystery man usually comes around to drop off a complimentary rose at extraordinary houses.· But he was apparently talked into selling it by a mystery man for just one pound.· The mystery man John Huang seems to have worked rather unsuccessfully at the Lippo Bank, whatever that is.· Last week Mairead was convinced her mystery man was a footballer.· Actually she was every bit as curious about the saturnine mystery man as Candy.
· Collins creates a gripping picture of slow-moving, small-town life, and packs it into a treat of a murder mystery.· For those who like solving murder mysteries, however, this is one that will challenge your deductive abilities.· I kind of chain-read murder mysteries.· But it turned into a murder mystery anyway.· So I will go through about five murder mysteries a week - I read really rapidly.· The way P. D. James sees it, the murder mystery is all about the restoration of order to a disorderly world.· You can try to work out whether it is autobiography or murder mystery and how it works within these genre classifications.· The plot for a murder mystery?
· To be precise, we know that he wrote mystery novels.· Even before he became William Wilson, Quinn had been a devoted reader of mystery novels.
· The first year was a magical mystery tour.
· The mystery virus, it was thought, would spread into the healthy tree, causing that too to become diseased.
· A mystery woman bombarded Hendry's manager Ian Doyle's Stirling offices with venomous death threats by letter and phone.· Paula's a bit of a mystery woman.· Since early September the 23-year-old multi-millionaire had been stalked by a mystery woman threatening to kill the man she once idolised.
VERB· The fragmentary analysis of nature succeeds only in obscuring the real and deepening the mystery.· This brief, tantalizing glimpse into his past life served only to deepen the mystery of his background.· Police told to stay away For many, the killing of municipal police chief Benitez deepens the mystery.· This deepened the mystery rather than clarifying it.
· I hope you can explain this mystery to me.· Ahab talks to this head and asks it to explain the mystery of the universe.· How else could anyone explain your mystery?· Such theories contribute nothing to explaining the mystery of perception.· With only his home-made phrase book to help him, Twoflower was trying to explain the mysteries of inn-sewer-ants to Broadman.
· How much Crédit Lyonnais is owed by Pathe remains a mystery.· But while the functions and importance of the clock have been clear, exactly how this timekeeper works has remained a mystery.· This World Heritage Site remains a mystery.· Beyond that, Weaver remains a mystery.· Why he did not pay the full amount must remain a mystery.· The HubbellLippo connection remains a mystery.· These remain shrouded in mystery also.· What happened to him may remain a mystery for ever.
· Instead of solving a mystery, she'd discovered another.· But solving the mystery also teaches some important lessons about the era ahead.· Then the central character has to be the detective who eventually must solve the mystery.· Seeing him as almost certainly dead, what we want is to solve his mystery.· Although I am not yet sure that I have solved the mystery, I have assembled evidence which clarifies what happened.· He joked to her that he would like to solve the mystery, marry a princess, and inherit the kingdom.· Unfortunately, Howard Reich, a Chicago music critic, fails to solve the mystery of the pianist's rise and disappearance.· In the process she solves several mysteries and is reunited with her lover.
· There are many theories but the mystery surrounding Stonehenge is as perpetual as the stones themselves.· After all, this was by no means the only mystery surrounding Dad: almost nothing about him was straight forward or simple.· There is some mystery surrounding Theta Eridani, or Acamar.· The advisory committee report did little to resolve the mystery surrounding Gulf War illness.· There are all sorts of mysteries surrounding this story.· Their purchase of an old desk provides Tom with a clue to the mystery surrounding Raybrick's savings.· The mystery surrounding his death still haunts his family.· However, the potentially damning disclosures were muddied by the mystery surrounding the man who sent the complaint.
· For the song of the suffering servant helps unlock the mystery that defies logic.· If I succeed it will unlock a lot of the mystery of what's been done on Titron.· Within minutes detectives, a police surgeon and her family arrived to begin the task of unlocking the mystery of her disappearance.
· When scientists attempt to unravel the mysteries of the past they always run up against a brick wall.· A prepared statement failed to unravel the mystery.· It excited her and she promised herself that one day she would unravel the mystery.· For many years Frederick Delouche felt a particular need to unravel such mysteries.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► be veiled in mystery/secrecy etc
1[countable usually singular] an event, situation etc that people do not understand or cannot explain because they do not know enough about it: - Scientists succeeded in unlocking the secrets to polio's cause.
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 aboutthe mysteries of something his introduction to the mysteries of the perfume business4[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 mysteryCOLLOCATIONS– Meaning 1verbsbe 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.adjectivesa 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.phrasessomething 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.COLLOCATIONS– Meaning 2verbsbe 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.adjectivesdeep mystery (=big and important mystery)· the deep mystery of the human mindgreat mystery· We wondered about the great mystery of death.phrasesan 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.mystery1 nounmystery2 adjective
mysterymystery2 adjective [only before noun] COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Who was the mystery woman spotted on board the yacht with the prince? a mystery virusCOLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES The building retains an aura of mystery. The talks have been cloaked in secrecy. The incident has always been shrouded in mystery.
Who was the mystery woman spotted on board the yacht with the prince? a mystery virus The building retains an aura of mystery. The talks have been cloaked in secrecy. The incident has always been shrouded in mystery.· Staff at the library think they have solved the mystery.
· The movie is based on a story by science-fiction writer Phillip K. Dick.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► be veiled in mystery/secrecy etc
used to describe someone or something that people do not recognize or know anything about, especially when this causes great interestmystery man/woman- Scientists succeeded in unlocking the secrets to polio's cause.
Who was the mystery woman spotted on board the yacht with the prince? a mystery virus