mystique means an aura of heightened interest, meaning or mystery surrounding a person or thing. It carries an Arena rating of 1623, earned across 9 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, mystique ranks #836 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #1,225 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #2,006 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #2,355 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words.
mystique is pronounced /mɪˈstiːk/.
Why “mystique” is a great word
An aura of heightened interest, meaning, or mystery surrounding a person or thing. From French mystique ("a mystic; mystical"), from Latin mysticus, from Greek mystikos ("secret, mystic"), from mystēs ("an initiate"); first attested in English c. 1891. Unlike "charisma," which radiates outward through compelling warmth, or "reputation," which rests on accumulated facts, mystique draws its power from deliberate withholding—the fascination of the silhouette cast against a shuttered window. It is the veiled face in a Renaissance portrait, the chef whose name never appears on the menu, the muted click of a vault door sealing away a private collection. Its allure is founded not on presence, but on the profound and resonant suggestion of absence.
Etymology
Borrowed from French mystique (“a mystic”), from Latin mysticus. See also the doublet mystic.
noun
- An aura of heightened interest, meaning or mystery surrounding a person or thing.e.g.“THE LONDON BRIGHTON & SOUTH COAST RAILWAY. By C. Hamilton Ellis. Ian Allan. 30s. [...] In an opening chapter entitled "Portrait", he ends by asking whether there was a mystique about the L.B. & S.C.” — 1960 December, “New reading on railways”, in Trains Illustrated, page 776:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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