Esoteric
adj, noun ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 An esoteric doctrine or treatise; esoteric philosophy.
- 2 One who believes, or is an initiate, in esoteric doctrines or rites.
- 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!"
- 2 Having to do with concepts that are highly theoretical and without obvious practical application; often with mystical or religious connotations.
"When he spoke to me of esoteric mysteries I wanted to say to him,"Don't give me that spiritual hokum, friend!""
- 3 Confidential; private.
"an esoteric purpose"
- 1 confined to and understandable by only an enlightened inner circle wordnet
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"Belinda tried strict diets, grueling exercise routines, and some sort of esoteric New Age detox, all amounting to nothing--she had curves, and that was that."
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ἐσωτερικός (esōterikós, “belonging to an inner circle”), from ἐσωτέρω (esōtérō, “further inside”), comparative of ἔσω (ésō, “within”), from ἐς (es), εἰς (eis, “into”) (the term esoteric referred originally to the secret teachings of Greek philosophers, versus public or exoteric ones).
Related phrases
More for "esoteric"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.