Synonyms for esoteric
- adjective
- noun
Most common
All synonyms
Adjective
1. Abstruse — intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or…
abstruse formal, arcane, recondite, mystic, mysterious, obscure, mystical, occult, secret, cryptic, hidden, dark, profound, deep, private, acroamatic, enigmatic, obfuscated, covert, latent, concealed
Other
Noun
Definitions
- adj. 1
Intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest, or an enlightened inner circle.
The writing in this manual is very esoteric; I’d need a degree in engineering just to understand it!
- n. 1
An esoteric doctrine or treatise; esoteric philosophy.
Related words
- Word family
- esoterica esotericism
- Phrases
- esoteric programming language
- Other spellings
- esoterical
Forms
- Plural
- esoterics → esotericisms, arcanities…
Example sentences
- mysterious A mysterious spaceship was flying away from Earth.
- secretive He is very secretive in regard to his family life.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| esoteric | rising | |
| mysterious | rising | |
| mystic | steady | |
| arcane | rising | |
| recondite | falling | |
| secretive | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- dark1, deep1
- 5 letters
- inner2
- 6 letters
- secret2, hidden2, mystic2, covert2, occult2, latent2, arcane2
- 7 letters
- special2, private2, obscure2, cryptic2
- 8 letters
- internal3, profound2, mystical3, abstruse2, arcanity
- 9 letters
- concealed2, secretive3, enigmatic4, recondite3
- 10 letters
- mysterious4, obfuscated, acroamatic
- 11 letters
- kabbalistic, esotericism
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (inner2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- ésotérique
- Italiano
- esoterico
- Español
- esotérico