1
as in mysterious
being beyond one's powers to know, understand, or explain
the occult ways in which the human mind works
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2
as in ambiguous
having an often intentionally veiled or uncertain meaning
an occult reference in the text that has puzzled scholars ever since
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3
as in magic
having seemingly supernatural qualities or powers
Great Britain's Stonehenge is one of those occult places where people expect something of cosmic significance to happen
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as in to obscure
to keep secret or shut off from view
occulted their house from prying eyes by planting large trees around it the actor's private life had long been occulted by a contrived public persona
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of occult
Dennis Harvey, Variety, 22 Jan. 2023
Other screening options include annual fecal occult blood tests which look for blood in the stool.
—Janelle Chavez, CNN, 19 Jan. 2023
Joe Rao, Space.com, 9 Jan. 2025
January 13: In the early evening the full moon will occult—pass directly in front of—the planet Mars, eclipsing it.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 9 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for occult
Adjective
It’s a determinedly non-jokey supernatural thriller in which a group of Adelaide teens get in way over their heads playing an occult party game.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 22 Jan. 2023
Other screening options include annual fecal occult blood tests which look for blood in the stool.
—Janelle Chavez, CNN, 19 Jan. 2023
Verb
Since this cluster lies 4 degrees north of the ecliptic — that great circle on the celestial sphere representing the sun's apparent path during the year — it can be occulted only when the ascending node of the moon's orbit is in the Pisces-to-Sagittarius part of the ecliptic.
—Joe Rao, Space.com, 9 Jan. 2025
January 13: In the early evening the full moon will occult—pass directly in front of—the planet Mars, eclipsing it.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 9 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for occult
Recent Examples of Synonyms for occult
Adjective
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After his first game since Feb. 26, Porziņģis detailed his long journey back from a mysterious illness.—
Jay King,
The Athletic,
16 Mar. 2025
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Everyone is a suspect, and there’s a lot of buildup to finding out what happened at a fateful St. Patrick’s Day party 15 years prior — especially when Chelsea (Ilana Glazer) makes a mysterious reference to an incident that made the entire school ostracize her.—
Marianne Eloise,
Vulture,
14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Team Harris’s strategy appeared to rely heavily on a short campaign window, with a sparse interview schedule, slow windup to unscripted events, and ambiguous policy positions.—
W. James Antle III,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
14 Mar. 2025
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Instead, security leaders typically present compliance checklists, regulatory obligations and ambiguous risk scores that executives then struggle to translate into financial and operational impact.—
Jerry Layden,
Forbes,
12 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Treating Fundraising Like Sales Fundraising is a sales process, not a magic trick.—
Mike Mahlkow,
Forbes,
14 Mar. 2025
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Her magic solution: a supplement from Amazon to fight iron deficiency, and a health newsletter that promised tips for weight loss, a clean gut, and better health.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
13 Mar. 2025
Verb
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But all of this noise obscures the simple way to synthesize all of this: Less is better.—
Dylan Scott,
Vox,
14 Mar. 2025
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From Blue Ghost’s landing site in the Sea of Crises (close to the Sea of Tranquility, where Apollo 11 landed in 1969), totality — when Earth will completely obscure the sun as seen from the moon — will start at 1:18 a.m.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes,
13 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The Bachelor alum took to social media on Wednesday, March 19, with a cryptic message seemingly responding to her ex-boyfriend Brendan Morais’ hard launch with his new girlfriend Serene Russell.—
Liza Esquibias,
People.com,
21 Mar. 2025
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The episode ends with a cryptic phone call to Luca from a family member, hinting at their ties to the resort.—
Martine Paris,
Forbes,
20 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Founded on the ethos of art as a form of mystic healing, the label reimagines the family heirloom—and invites its patrons to examine their relationship with objects.—
Nia Shumake,
Essence,
3 Feb. 2025
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Healy Lake members have long considered their dogs to be mystic companions, according to Combs.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
4 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Donaldson’s magical moment will go down as an instant classic in Michigan lore.—
Michael Marot,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Mar. 2025
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The night of her Broadway debut was nothing short of magical.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
People.com,
15 Mar. 2025
Verb
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She’s convicted of conspiring to defraud the U.S. government by concealing undeclared foreign accounts, filing false tax returns and evading taxes over a decade, according to a plea agreement with the Justice Department.—
Jay Weaver,
Miami Herald,
11 Mar. 2025
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Dark Empaths can grasp the subtleties of human behavior and use that insight to conceal their shortcomings behind a brash level of confidence.—
Dan Pontefract,
Forbes,
11 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Occult.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/occult. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.
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