Words / B1

mi-STEERR-ee-uh-s/mɪˈstɪəriəs/

Mysterious means strange and not explained. Mystery is the noun (if present) / strange is everyday. Unexplained is a close twin. Schools: a mysterious odour closed the science block.

Meaning

Strange and not explained; hard to understand or identify.

Examples

• “A mysterious odour closed the science block until the gas team arrived.”
• “A mysterious benefactor in a novel is not a named donor in the accounts.”

Good to know

a mysterious + odour / disappearance / donor. Everyday: strange. News / fiction. Adverb: mysteriously. Not “mysteryous”.

Near in meaning

strange

New