word-vault

{ "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." }