{
    "term": "mystery",
    "partOfSpeech": "noun",
    "ox3000": true,
    "cefr": "b1",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "something that is difficult to understand or to explain",
            "sensetop": "It is a mystery to somebody why, how, etc…",
            "cefr": "b1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "It is one of the great **unsolved mysteries** of this century."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Their motives remain a mystery."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She tried to solve the mystery of the boy's sudden death."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It's a complete mystery to me why they chose him.",
                    "contextForm": "It is a mystery to somebody why, how, etc…"
                },
                {
                    "text": "He had found the clue to unlock the whole mystery"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Her poetry attempts to penetrate the dark mystery of death."
                },
                {
                    "text": "How the disease started is one of medicine's great mysteries."
                },
                {
                    "text": "How these insects actually communicate presents something of a mystery."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It remains a mystery as to where he was buried."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It was easy to believe that the house held some great mystery."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She pondered the mystery of the disappearing thief."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The mystery deepened when the police's only suspect was found murdered."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The police are close to solving the mystery of the missing murder weapon."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The silence has deepened the mystery surrounding his work."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The witness could shed no light on the mystery of the deceased's identity."
                },
                {
                    "text": "There's a bit of a mystery about this child."
                },
                {
                    "text": "one of life's little mysteries"
                },
                {
                    "text": "the central mystery of the story"
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["big", "great", "little"],
                "verb + mystery": ["be", "present (somebody with)", "remain"],
                "mystery + verb": ["remain", "deepen", "unfold"],
                "mystery + noun": ["man", "woman", "caller"],
                "preposition": ["mystery about", "mystery as to", "mystery to"],
                "phrases": [
                    "an air of mystery",
                    "an aura of mystery",
                    "something of a mystery"
                ]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "a person or thing that is strange and interesting because you do not know much about them or it",
            "sensetop": "mystery to somebody",
            "labels": "(British English)",
            "cefr": "b1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "He's a bit of a mystery."
                },
                {
                    "text": "There was a **mystery guest** on the programme."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The mystery man's identity remains hidden."
                },
                {
                    "text": "a mystery disease/illness/virus"
                },
                {
                    "text": "a **mystery tour** *(= when you do not know where you are going)*"
                },
                {
                    "text": "My sister is a complete mystery to me.",
                    "contextForm": "mystery to somebody"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The band was financed by a mystery backer."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Next on the programme, Dan Green takes us on a magical mystery tour of Cumbria's music scene."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Their suspect was a mystery man: a quiet, happily married man with no enemies."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She was a total mystery to him despite their long association."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["big", "great", "little"],
                "verb + mystery": ["be", "present (somebody with)", "remain"],
                "mystery + verb": ["remain", "deepen", "unfold"],
                "mystery + noun": ["man", "woman", "caller"],
                "preposition": ["mystery about", "mystery as to", "mystery to"],
                "phrases": [
                    "an air of mystery",
                    "an aura of mystery",
                    "something of a mystery"
                ]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "the quality of being difficult to understand or to explain, especially when this makes somebody/something seem interesting and exciting",
            "cefr": "b1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Mystery surrounds her disappearance."
                },
                {
                    "text": "His past is **shrouded in mystery** *(= not much is known about it)*."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The dark glasses give her an **air of mystery**."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She’s a woman of mystery."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Mystery remains over who will star in the film."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Modern weather forecasts try to take the mystery out of meteorology."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The whole incident was shrouded in mystery."
                },
                {
                    "text": "a place of deep mystery and enchantment"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Her blue eyes had a certain mystery."
                },
                {
                    "text": "the mystery surrounding her resignation"
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["big", "great", "little"],
                "verb + mystery": ["be", "present (somebody with)", "remain"],
                "mystery + verb": ["remain", "deepen", "unfold"],
                "mystery + noun": ["man", "woman", "caller"],
                "preposition": ["mystery about", "mystery as to", "mystery to"],
                "phrases": [
                    "an air of mystery",
                    "an aura of mystery",
                    "something of a mystery"
                ]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 4,
            "definition": "a story, a film or a play in which crimes and strange events are only explained at the end",
            "cefr": "b1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "He is the author of several **murder mysteries**."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The film is based on Daphne DuMaurier's mystery novel, ‘Rebecca’."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Literature and writing", "Crime and punishment"],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["big", "great", "little"],
                "verb + mystery": ["be", "present (somebody with)", "remain"],
                "mystery + verb": ["remain", "deepen", "unfold"],
                "mystery + noun": ["man", "woman", "caller"],
                "preposition": ["mystery about", "mystery as to", "mystery to"],
                "phrases": [
                    "an air of mystery",
                    "an aura of mystery",
                    "something of a mystery"
                ]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 5,
            "definition": "secret religious ceremonies; secret knowledge",
            "labels": "(figurative)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "the teacher who initiated me into the mysteries of mathematics"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 6,
            "definition": "a religious belief that cannot be explained or proved in a scientific way",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "the mystery of creation"
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈmɪstri/",
                "audio": "my/mystery/mystery__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈmɪstəri/",
                "audio": "my/mystery/mystery__us_2.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "Middle English (in the sense ‘mystic presence, hidden religious symbolism’): from Old French mistere or Latin mysterium, from Greek mustērion; related to mystic."
}