Meaning & use
mysticism
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Meanings
noununcountable
The belief or practice of seeking direct, personal contact with God or ultimate reality through spiritual experience rather than through ideas or rituals.
Grammar: No plural; used as a mass noun, often with 'the' when referring to a specific tradition: the mysticism of the Sufis.
Patterns
- mysticism of a tradition
- Christian mysticism
- Islamic mysticism
- a form of mysticism
Her book explores the mysticism of medieval Christian saints.
Sufi mysticism emphasizes a personal, inward experience of the divine.
He was drawn to Eastern mysticism after traveling in India.
noununcountabledisapproving
A style of thought or writing that relies on vague, mysterious, or supernatural explanations instead of clear reasoning.
Grammar: Often used with a critical tone, suggesting a lack of clarity or logic.
Patterns
- a strain of mysticism
- accusations of mysticism
- mysticism in someone's writing
The scientist criticized the mysticism in the popular article about quantum healing.
His philosophy was dismissed as mysticism by his colleagues.
There is a strain of mysticism in the movement that worries historians.
Common combinations
- Christian mysticism
- Christian mysticism has a long tradition of contemplative prayer.
- Eastern mysticism
- Eastern mysticism became popular in the West in the 1960s.
- a form of mysticism
- Zen is sometimes described as a form of mysticism.
- mysticism of the Sufis
- The mysticism of the Sufis focuses on a personal experience of God.
Synonyms and how they differ
- spirituality
- Spirituality is a broader term for a person's sense of connection to something sacred; mysticism specifically involves direct, experiential union with the divine.
- transcendentalism
- Transcendentalism is a 19th-century American literary and philosophical movement; mysticism is a general religious practice found in many traditions.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: mysticism or mystery? mysticism or mystique?
mysticism vs mystery
Mystery is something that is difficult to understand or explain; mysticism is a spiritual practice or belief, not just anything puzzling.
mysticism vs mystique
Mystique is an air of mystery or glamour that surrounds a person or thing; mysticism is a religious or philosophical approach.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'mysticism' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Mysticism refers to a spiritual practice or tradition, so 'the mysticism of the desert fathers' is correct. The other options confuse it with 'mystery' or 'mystique'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mysticism”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.