mystery, problem, enigma, riddle, puzzle mean something which baffles or perplexes. mystery applies to what cannot be fully understood by reason or less strictly to whatever resists or defies explanation.
Mystery novels are often called “whodunnits” because they turn the reader into a detective trying to figure out the who, what, when, and how of a particular crime.
If you talk about the mystery of someone or something, you are talking about how difficult they are to understand or know about, especially when this gives them a rather strange or magical quality.
Definition of mystery noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
Something that is a secret: “From the first, some private trouble weighed on his mind, and since he chose to make a mystery of its cause, a biographer is bound to respect his wish” (Henry Adams).
