mysteriousness

noun

1
as in ambiguity
the quality or state of being impossible to know, understand, or explain the mysteriousness of the nocturnal noises evaporated with the arrival of daybreak

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2
as in ambiguousness
the quality or state of having a veiled or uncertain meaning the unexpected mysteriousness of the phone message had them a little concerned

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of mysteriousness That intrigue and mysteriousness still rest in the canyon walls today. — Madison Dapcevich, Outside, 13 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mysteriousness
  1. ambiguity
  2. mystery
  3. impenetrability
  4. inscrutability
  5. obscurity
  6. darkness
Noun
  • There is little ambiguity about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aims.
    — Julianne Smith, Foreign Affairs, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Others, however, like Morissa Schwartz, founder of GenZ Publishing, said the ambiguity might have been deliberate.
    — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of ambiguity
Noun
  • The Sox’s pitching plans are a daily mystery, and worries over Grant Taylor’s right arm falling off have become nightly debates in South Side bars.
    — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Lucy’s constant sense of invention sometimes falters under the album’s new, megawatt spotlight, lacking the enticing mystery that gives their best music its power.
    — H.D. Angel, Pitchfork, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of mystery
Noun
  • What The Dark Wizard does differently is grapple with Potter’s impenetrability without being able to resolve it, and consider how that indecision might change our perceptions of his life and his May 2015 death while BASE jumping in Yosemite.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 7 May 2026
  • Byrne is generous with his time and attention, but there’s also a Warholian air of mystery about him—a gentle impenetrability, a feeling of separateness.
    — Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2025
Definition of impenetrability
Noun
  • In the same way that audiences are trying to unpack the central scheme — or interlocking set of schemes — at the center of Paula’s newfound predicament, so was the Emmy-winning Maslany drawn to the inscrutability of her character.
    — Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 24 May 2026
  • What these critics don’t reckon with enough is that inscrutability is also a feature of the world.
    — Luis Parrales, The Atlantic, 28 Apr. 2026
Definition of inscrutability
Noun
  • Asco’s work remained in relative obscurity — living in local mythology through storytellers like Ignacio — for decades.
    — Laura Zornosa, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Smart city programs in Beijing, Shanghai, and other urban centers use AI to track performance and centralize oversight of local officials who once operated in comfortable obscurity, subjecting them to an algorithmic performance review.
    — Seva Gunitsky, Foreign Affairs, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of obscurity
Noun
  • His films have so far ended in darkness, offering only the belief that light might exist somewhere ahead.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026
  • At that point, the film pivots to a more surreal register, presenting bright, clear skies that are slowly, eerily engulfed in darkness.
    — Lé Baltar, IndieWire, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of darkness

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mysterious
mysteriousness
mystery
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Cite this Entry

“Mysteriousness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mysteriousness. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

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