sibylline

[ sib-uh-leen, -lahyn, -lin ]

adjective

1. of, resembling, or characteristic of a sibyl; prophetic; oracular.
2. mysterious; cryptic.

Word History and Origins

Origin of sibylline¹

First recorded in 1570–80; from Latin Sibyllīnus “pertaining to a sibyl”; sibyl, -ine ¹

Example Sentences

Schwartz adores “cerulean and azure swaths” of “open sea,” the adjective “sibylline,” fabrics like “almond-coloured velvet” and “rough linen,” sunlight dappled by leaves.

From Los Angeles Times

I was underwhelmed by Colin Matthews’s “A Voice to Wake,” with its vocal line that felt somehow both sibylline and mechanical.

From New York Times

Even when representing the self, many of these artists tend to the sibylline.

From Washington Post

It is as old as the sibylline books.

From The Guardian

Also because I was influenced by a late-blooming acquaintance with Wagner operas, discovering that their aesthetic, which I had assumed to be bombastic, really relies on sibylline continuities.

From The New Yorker