1[countableC usually singular]MYSTERIOUS an event, situation etc that people do not understand or cannot explain because they do not know enough about it 神秘事物,难以理解的事物,谜
Twenty years after the event, his death remains a mystery.
事情过去二十年了,他的死仍然是个谜。
The way her mind worked was always a mystery to him.
她脑子里在想些什么对他来说始终是个谜。
‘Why did he do it?’ ‘I don’t know. It’s a complete mystery.’
“他为什么这么做?” “我不知道,这完全是个谜。”
The police never solved the mystery of Gray’s disappearance.
警察一直没有侦破格雷失踪的谜案。
But why would anyone want to kill Jack? The mystery deepened.
但为什么会有人想杀死杰克呢?疑团越来越深了。
What happened to the paintings after that is an unsolved mystery.
后来那些画的命运如何是个不解之谜。
I don’t know how he got the job – it’s one of life’s little mysteries.
我不知道他是怎么得到那份工作的——那永远是个小小的谜。
How life began on Earth is one of the great mysteries of science.
地球生命的起源是一大科学谜团。
2[uncountableU]MYSTERIOUS the quality that something or someone has when they seem strange, secret, or difficult to understand or explain 神秘(性)
Her dark glasses gave her an air of mystery.
戴上墨镜给她增添了一丝神秘气质。
Annie knew that there was some mystery surrounding her birth.
安妮知道她的出身是个谜。
be shrouded/veiled in mystery
The circumstances of his death were veiled in mystery.
他的死笼罩着一层神秘色彩。
3[countableC usually plural] a subject, activity etc that is very complicated, secret, or difficult to understand, and that people want to learn about 复杂难懂的领域
the mysteries of something
his introduction to the mysteries of the perfume business
他初次接触神秘的香水行业
4[countableC] (also murder mystery) a story, film, or play about a murder, in which you are not told who the murderer is until the end 悬疑[推理,侦探]故事[电影,戏剧]
an Agatha Christie mystery
一部阿加莎•克里斯蒂的悬疑小说
nCOLLOCATIONS – Meaning 1: an event, situation etc that people do not understand or cannot explain because they do not know enough about it
verbs
be a mystery
It’s a mystery how he got my phone number.
remain a mystery
What caused the accident remains a mystery.
solve/unravel a mystery (=find out what happened)
The children were given the clues and had to try to solve the mystery.
the mystery deepens (=it becomes more difficult to understand)
Why would he run away if he were not guilty? The mystery deepens.
the mystery surrounding something
Research has unravelled much of the mystery surrounding the ageing process.
adjectives
a complete/total mystery
She said that her husband’s disappearance was a complete mystery.
an unsolved mystery
What happened to her is still an unsolved mystery.
a great mystery (=a big and important mystery)
It is one of the great mysteries of science.
a little/minor mystery
It was a minor mystery how the file had survived the fire.
a big mystery
If they are right, they have solved one of the biggest mysteries in astronomy.
phrases
something is one of life’s (little) mysteries (=it is something that you will never understand – used humorously)
Where socks disappear to after they’ve been washed is one of life’s little mysteries.
nCOLLOCATIONS – Meaning 2: the quality that something or someone has when they seem strange, secret, or difficult to understand or explain
verbs
be shrouded/veiled in mystery (=be unable to be explained)
The origins of this tradition remain shrouded in mystery.
mystery surrounds something (=something cannot be explained)
Mystery has always surrounded the purpose of the great stone circle of Stonehenge.
adjectives
deep mystery (=big and important mystery)
the deep mystery of the human mind
great mystery
We wondered about the great mystery of death.
phrases
an element of mystery (=part of something that seems mysterious)
There is an element of mystery and miracle in the process.
an air of mystery (=something that seems mysterious)
There was an air of mystery about him.
a sense of mystery (=a feeling that something is mysterious)
The garden had hidden corners that gave it a sense of mystery.
Examples from the Corpus
mystery• The writer's identity is a mystery, but he is thought to be Spanish.• It's a mystery to me how Gayle managed to get here before us.• You took the job with him simply to clear up a mystery.• Ten firemen were in hospital with a mysteryillness last night.• In the subway one faced the eternalmystery of lust and desire.• Collins creates a gripping picture of slow-moving, small-town life, and packs it into a treat of a murder mystery.• Sue Grafton's mysteriessell very well.• No one has ever been able to explain the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle.• As for the mysteryguest, all I can say is it will be a magician in a box.• Scientists continue to unravel the mysteries of humangenes.• Police are still trying to unravel the mystery of how the prisoner managed to escape.• Corbett viewed the mystery as a logical problem.• The mystery remains unresolved as twilight turns to total blackness.• The mysterydeepens as more witnesses come forward to tell different stories.
remains a mystery• The HubbellLippo connectionremains a mystery.• Southerncookingremains a mystery to most people outside the region.• It remains a mystery whether Yeltsin knew about it and was deliberately obfuscating.• And yet his emotional life remains a mystery to him.• How much Crédit Lyonnais is owed by Pathe remains a mystery.• But the presidentremains a mystery.• This World HeritageSiteremains a mystery.• That remains a mystery to him.• Beyond that, Weaverremains a mystery.
air of mystery• Yet not to do so gave the affair an air of mystery that he disliked.• It gave an air of mystery and excitement to the rehearsals.• Almost all Modigliani's portraits have an air of mystery which raises them above the level of the mundane.
the mysteries of something• Mundin asks, inconvenienced and awed by the mysteries of the female body.• These conditions embracedthe realities ofsurvival in an often hostileenvironment, and the mysteries of birth and death.• They would prefer to keep the mysteries ofnature as mysterious as possible.• Strangely, never once did they mentionthe mysteries of Selkirk's and Ruthven's deaths.• This faith was part of the mysteries of Eleusis.• An old man, with clouds of white hair and dark, soulful eyes that had seen the mysteries of the universe.• Take your first step to solvingthe mysteries of the Trail by filling in the form over the page.• When scientists attempt to unravel the mysteries of the past they always run up against a brick wall.
mystery2adjectiveadj [only before noun]
used to describe someone or something that people do not recognize or know anything about, especially when this causes great interest 神秘的
mystery man/woman
Who was the mystery woman spotted on board the yacht with the prince?
那个被发现和王子同在游艇上的神秘女人是谁?
a mystery virus
一种神秘的病毒
Examples from the Corpus
mystery man/woman• A mystery womanbombarded Hendry's manager Ian Doyle's Stirling offices with venomous death threats by letter and phone.• But he was apparently talked into selling it by a mystery man for just one pound.• The mystery manJohn Huang seems to have worked rather unsuccessfully at the Lippo Bank, whatever that is.• In any case, Gillian has invited a mystery man to share the cottage in Witham Friary, Somerset.• A mystery man usually comes around to drop off a complimentary rose at extraordinary houses.• Last week Mairead was convinced her mystery man was a footballer.
Originmystery
(1300-1400)Latinmysterium, from Greek, from mystos“keeping silent”, from myein (of the eyes or lips) “to be closed”