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

Etymology

Origin of mysticism

First recorded in 1730–40; mystic + -ism

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

As the story piles up coincidences—or “synchronicities,” to use the Jungian term Shoma favors—it increasingly aligns with Hindu mysticism.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 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

Jewelry sellers livestreaming on Taobao report surging sales of crystal bracelets and talismans, products that blend fashion with mysticism.

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2025

Jones, who has lost both parents in the last six years, says she’s also been reading books about Celtic mysticism, sorrow and connecting to nature.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2025

Like Kepler, he was not immune to the superstitions of his day and had many encounters with mysticism.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

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 Hope, James Barron

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 Hilton, Warren

His brain was becoming too crammed with queries, with strange happenings and with the aggravating mysticisms of the life into which his father's death had thrown him to permit clearness of vision.

From The Cross-Cut by Cooper, Courtney Ryley

He is not a poet dealing in mysticisms, but a rhetorical philosopher, propounding startling theories, partly true and partly false, which he logically enforces with matchless eloquence.

From Beacon Lights of History, Volume 13 Great Writers; Dr Lord's Uncompleted Plan, Supplemented with Essays by Emerson, Macaulay, Hedge, and Mercer Adam by Lord, John

At all times and in all places, these two mysticisms have given each other the hand.

From Lectures on the true, the beautiful and the good by Cousin, Victor