mysticism

American  

[mis-tuh-siz-uhm] / ˈmɪs təˌsɪz əm /

noun

• mysticisms
  plural

1. the beliefs, ideas, or mode of thought of mystics.

2. a doctrine of an immediate spiritual intuition of truths believed to transcend ordinary understanding, or of a direct, intimate union of the soul with God through contemplation or ecstasy.

3. obscure thought or speculation.

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mysticism British  

/ ˈmɪstɪˌsɪzəm /

noun

1. belief in or experience of a reality surpassing normal human understanding or experience, esp a reality perceived as essential to the nature of life

2. a system of contemplative prayer and spirituality aimed at achieving direct intuitive experience of the divine

3. obscure or confused belief or thought

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mysticism Cultural  

1. In religion, the attempt by an individual to achieve a personal union with God or with some other divine being or principle. Mystics generally practice daily meditation.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antimysticism
  noun
• nonmysticism
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• mysticisms
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of mysticism

First recorded in 1730–40; mystic + -ism

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Explanation

Mysticism is a religion or religious belief based on union or communion with a deity, or divine being. Mysticism is what lets you transcend the physical to experience enlightenment — let's just say you'll recognize it when it happens. Mystical, mysterious, and filled with wonder, mysticism is easily associated with crystals, New Age theories, or the occult (the supernatural). The truth is that many faiths, including Hinduism, Judaism, and Christianity, have their own forms of mysticism, placing an emphasis on spiritual connection and union, and the mysteries of religion over dogma or rigid rules. Outside of religion, mysticism is applied to cryptic, obscure, or irrational thought — leaning toward mystery and wonder, rather than logic.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mysticism mysticisms

Beta takes a similar approach to expressions of spirituality and mysticism, which there is a fair amount of in this book, given Alice Coltrane’s personal journey into becoming Swamini Turiyasangitananda.

From Salon ● Apr. 14, 2026

Hegel was a metaphysician whose insistence that Geist, or spirit, pervades the historical process and moves it to some grand culmination is difficult to distinguish from New Age mysticism, and hence charlatanism.

From Salon ● Mar. 28, 2026

Photographer Sebastian Pii is the perfect guide through the bewildering mysticism of Colombian writer-director Augusto Sandino’s debut.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 22, 2025

Amid the devastation, strains of oddball mysticism have arisen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025

Though the technique is the exact opposite of most techniques of mysticism it probably is a mystical discipline, tending towards the experience of Immanence; but I can’t categorize any practice of the Handdarata with certainty.

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

Abjuring Mysticisms We shall lead your interest away from "vague mysticisms" and emphasize such phases of scientific psychological theory as bear directly on practical achievement.

From Psychology and Achievement Being the First of a Series of Twelve Volumes on the Applications of Psychology to the Problems of Personal and Business Efficiency by Warren Hilton

They took refuge in the most sombre of mysticisms, or, at least, in dogmatism of the narrowest kind.

From The Renascence of Hebrew Literature (1743-1885) by Nahum Slouschz

They are happy, cheerful spirits, void of mysteries, and do not torture people with mysticisms.

From Old Fritz and the New Era by Peter Langley

Here he soon became disgusted with the mysticisms of the schoolmen.

From The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen Gould Harmon White

He did not deal in "abstractions, or generalized arguments," or vague mysticisms.

From A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves Poems of James Barron Hope by James Barron Hope

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