Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

mysterious

/mɪˈstɪɹi.əs/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.17 in modern English

Syllables: mys-te-ri-ous
IPA: /mɪˈstɪɹi.əs/

15

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

4

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of unknown origin.

adj

Having unknown qualities.

adj

Difficult to understand.

adj

Deliberately evasive or enigmatic.

Example Sentences

"He received a mysterious phone call this morning."
"Our boss is a mysterious man who hardly ever meets with us."
"God moves in a myſterious way, / His wonders to perform; / He plants his footſteps in the ſea, / And rides upon the ſtorm."
"Why he left without saying goodbye is quite mysterious."
"Buttressed by clothes, walls and objects, there was the bourgeois family, the most mysterious institution of the age."
"Stop being mysterious and just tell me what you want."

Etymology

From Middle English *misterius (implied in misteriusly), probably partly from Middle French mystérieux and partly from Latin mystērium + -ous. By surface analysis, mystery + -ous.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: *misterius, mystérieux
Suffix: la:mystērium

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /mɪˈstɪɹi.əs/
British English: /mɪˈstɪə̯.ɹi.əs/

Inflected Forms

more mysterious (comparative) most mysterious (superlative)

Derived Forms

mysteriously mysteriousness unmysterious

Phrases

God works in mysterious ways the Lord works in mysterious ways

Frequently Paired Words

mystery ambiguous intriguing vague strange

Synonyms

untraceable esoteric uncertain undefined abstruse Chinese dense enigmatic fathomless bottomless Greek inapprehensible

Antonyms

known unambiguous unmysterious well-defined

Rhymes With

serious delirious deleterious imperious tiberius nereus

Questions

How do you pronounce mysterious?: The recorded pronunciation is /mɪˈstɪɹi.əs/.
What does mysterious mean?: Of unknown origin.
Where does mysterious come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce mysterious

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “mysterious”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/mɪˈstɪɹi.əs/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “mysterious” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.