Word of the Day: Mystery
Mystery is a noun. It can mean something that is secret, unexplained, or difficult to understand. It also names a story in which readers or listeners follow clues and try to discover the truth.
Pronunciation
Pronunciation: /ˈmɪs.t(ə.)ɹi/ in American English. The first syllable carries the stress. In quick speech, the middle vowel can become very short, so the word may sound close to “MIS-tree.”
How to use the word
A real event can be a mystery when its cause or explanation is unknown. A person may also be described as a mystery if their thoughts or actions are difficult to understand. In literature, a mystery usually presents a puzzle, a crime, or a hidden fact that the story later explains.
The plural is mysteries. Common phrases include “solve a mystery,” “remain a mystery,” and “mystery novel.” A clue is a fact or object that helps someone solve the mystery. The adjective is mysterious.
Examples
- The detective noticed a small clue that changed the whole mystery.
- Why the old clock stopped at midnight remains a mystery.
- She chose a short mystery for her evening audiobook.
Listening exercise
Listen to The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. After one story, name the central mystery, one important clue, and the explanation Holmes gives at the end.
Related words
clue, detective, secret, puzzle, and solution. Translations: mysterium in Swedish, Rätsel or Geheimnis in German, and mystère in French.
Lexical source: English Wiktionary. US English pronunciation recorded by Dvortygirl and published on Wikimedia Commons. This page uses the recording under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license.