Meaning & use

esoteric

adjective·Advanced

Intended for or understood by only a small group of people with specialized knowledge or interest.

See it in a sentence

The lecture covered such esoteric topics that most of the audience felt lost.

He collects esoteric philosophy books that few libraries even bother to stock.

A note on using this word

Esoteric describes knowledge that is deliberately or naturally limited to specialists, unlike 'popular,' which reaches a wide audience.

Words with a similar meaning

obscureabstrusearcane

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

mainstreamcommon

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “esoteric”, then compare your use with the examples above.

Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.