Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Intended for or understood by only a particular group: an esoteric cult. See Synonyms at mysterious.
- adj. Of or relating to that which is known by a restricted number of people.
- adj. Confined to a small group: esoteric interests.
- adj. Not publicly disclosed; confidential.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Literally, inner: originally applied to certain writings of Aristotle of a scientific, as opposed to a popular, character, and afterward to the secret or acroamatic teachings of Pythagoras; hence, in general, secret; intended to be communicated only to the initiated; profound.
- In embryology, endoblastic. See the extract.
- n. An esoteric doctrine.
- n. A believer in esoteric doctrines.
Wiktionary
- adj. Understood only by a chosen few or an enlightened inner circle.
- adj. Having to do with concepts that are highly theoretical and without obvious practical application; often with mystical or religious connotations.
- adj. Confidential; private.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Designed for, and understood by, the specially initiated alone; not communicated, or not intelligible, to the general body of followers; private; interior; acroamatic; -- said of discussions of technical topics and of the private and more recondite instructions and doctrines of philosophers. Opposed to
exoteric . - adj. Marked by secrecy or privacy; private; select; confidential.
- n. An esoteric doctrine or treatise; esoteric philosophy; esoterics.
- n. One who believes, or is an initiate, in esoteric doctrines or rites.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. confined to and understandable by only an enlightened inner circle
Etymologies
- From Ancient Greek ἐσωτερικός (esōterikos, "belonging to an inner circle"), from ἐσωτέρω (esōterō, "further inside"), comparative of ἔσω (esō, "within"), from ἐς (es), εἰς (eis, "into") (esoteric originally referred to the secret teachings of Greek philosophers, versus public or exoteric ones). (Wiktionary)
- Greek esōterikos, from esōterō, comparative of esō, within; see en in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“During the credit crisis the word 'esoteric' became associated with deals that were too complex for investors to understand," Mr. Wishengrad said.”
“The only place one may find them is in esoteric and occult histories and their own works spread across at least seven generations.”
“Those of us Straussians would call it esoteric writing, which is necessary to varying degrees at all times because every regime has its own particular idols.”
“Certain esoteric sects and psuedo-scientists place considerable importance upon these rare objects, occasionally manifesting in hysterical and apocalyptic cults.”
“To fight back, I have prohibited my employees from describing events in esoteric terms," Stewart joked.”
“Speaking of chess programs, the show gets bonus points for occasionally throwing in esoteric trivia.”
“I'm probably sounding quite elitist when I criticize this annual event for going overboard with their "pimps and ho's" display of street fiction, which was the predominant genre, and I know that the Black Arts Movement believed that our literature needed to reach the level of the layperson, not simply written for the upper crust in esoteric language.”
“And any potential impact on longer-term esoteric growth?”
Quest Diagnostics CEO Discusses Q4 2010 Earnings Call Transcript - Seeking Alpha
“One's rides certainly give Rome an inordinate scope for the reflective -- by which I suppose I mean after all the aesthetic and the "esoteric" -- life.”
“We've been called an esoteric company on an esoteric street," said Mr. Monsees.”
The Wall Street Journal: Howard Street Gets New Blend With Old
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘esoteric’.
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Test Prep or Just for fun
Building a list for standardized test prep or just for learning some new words! Please add any words that you feel are important for the SAT/GRE/GMAT etc...
throng, morass, parley, facile, kismet, strife, jetsam, carrion, annex, harbinger, vestige, surreptitious and 575 more...
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GRE 2014
abate, abdicate, abase, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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allover
reintegrate, spight, surveillant, harmonize, Colophon, workplace, bigoted, unsighted, bridgework, salutation, voltmeter, octane and 159 more...
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Unknown
coalition, cabinet, tweet, defuse, steep, ancestral, mindset, breach, infraction, egregious, curb, backbite and 282 more...
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GRE Barron's 800
zealot, wistful, welter, wary, whimsical, warranted, vortex, vivisection, volatile, vitiate, viscous, visage and 787 more...
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SAT 2
platitude, parsimonious, perspicacious, catharsis, captious, munificent, penurious, arid, portentous, ossified, nascent, perfidy and 13 more...
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2nd part
prelude, ample, escalate, prototype, accession, acquisition, archives, zealot, indict, verdict, intimidating, timid and 454 more...
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From reading
Collected from reading
venerate, reprobate, reticent, adoration, ethereal, ephemeral, equivocal, contumacious, heinous, solicitous, agnostic, aberration and 335 more...
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GRE
predilection, explicit, appeal, supplication, appealing, enchanting, ovation, pertinent, apropos, opportunely, applicable, germane and 381 more...
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sat 3
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Vocabulary
shibboleth, verboten, jejune, ostensible, multifarious, quintessence, purportedly, tangential, vacillate, quagmire, wanton, onerous and 74 more...
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gre2
aberrant, aberration, aboveboard, abrasive, abstemious, acme, admonish, affable, affluent, alacrity, allegory, alleviate and 1824 more...
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magoosh1
aberration, aboveboard, abysmal, ace, affable, aghast, alacrity, ambiguous, ambivalent, ameliorate, amenable, amiable and 205 more...
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to memorize
words i need to memorize
aberrant, abscond, advocate, aggrandize, amalgamate, ambiguous, ambrosial, anomalous, antediluvian, antipathy, arbitrate, assuage and 163 more...
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All The Words
I enjoy collecting words, for I have no fear of them ever running out.
anacoluthon, defenestration, hypnopomp, hypnagogue, idioglossia, panopticon, tatterdemalion, abalone, caltrop, miasma, paroxysm, smalt and 475 more...
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ICE
quincunx, adoxography, panjundrum, breloque, surd, scripturient, rousant, favrile, embouchure, aquarelle, griffonage, sussultatory and 234 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for esoteric.
pradyumnaojha Machine Learning is an estoric subject. Feb 17, 2013
fbharjo inner circle Aug 7, 2012
Winly Mallard Intended for a certain group. Otherwise confidential hmm.
And I don't like acrynyms(sp?) LOL Mar 17, 2011
Xina54 –adjective
1. Intended for or understood by only a particular group: an esoteric cult. See Synonyms at mysterious.
2. Of or relating to that which is known by a restricted number of people.
3. Confined to a small group: esoteric interests.
4. Not publicly disclosed; confidential.
Mar 12, 2011
myrtletheturtle The beauty of this word is that it has an almost onomatopoeic quality in that it is what it describes. Aug 21, 2008
crunchysaviour Christopher Lee Words are words that pertain to Christopher Lee and the films of Christopher Lee, or could have or have been used by Christopher Lee in said films, and when pronounced by Christopher Lee, sound especially good.
"Esoteric" is a Christopher Lee Word. Aug 19, 2008
mollusque Esoteric is like gefilte fish to the Dalai Lama.
--Rodger Kamenetz, 1994, The Jew in the Lotus May 28, 2008