Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th 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.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- 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.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- 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.
from The 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.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adj. confined to and understandable by only an enlightened inner circle
Etymologies
Examples
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"During the credit crisis the word 'esoteric' became associated with deals that were too complex for investors to understand," Mr. Wishengrad said.
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The only place one may find them is in esoteric and occult histories and their own works spread across at least seven generations.
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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.
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Certain esoteric sects and psuedo-scientists place considerable importance upon these rare objects, occasionally manifesting in hysterical and apocalyptic cults.
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"To fight back, I have prohibited my employees from describing events in esoteric terms," Stewart joked.
Jon Stewart To Larry King: 'You're The Last Guy Out Of A Burning Building' (VIDEO)
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Speaking of chess programs, the show gets bonus points for occasionally throwing in esoteric trivia.
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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.
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And any potential impact on longer-term esoteric growth?
Quest Diagnostics CEO Discusses Q4 2010 Earnings Call Transcript - Seeking Alpha
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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.
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"We've been called an esoteric company on an esoteric street," said Mr. Monsees.
pradyumnaojha commented on the word esoteric
Machine Learning is an estoric subject.
February 18, 2013
fbharjo commented on the word esoteric
inner circle
August 8, 2012
100000209953179 commented on the word esoteric
Intended for a certain group. Otherwise confidential hmm.
And I don't like acrynyms(sp?) LOL
March 17, 2011
Xina54 commented on the word esoteric
–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.
March 12, 2011
myrtletheturtle commented on the word esoteric
The beauty of this word is that it has an almost onomatopoeic quality in that it is what it describes.
August 21, 2008
crunchysaviour commented on the word esoteric
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.
August 19, 2008
mollusque commented on the word esoteric
Esoteric is like gefilte fish to the Dalai Lama.
--Rodger Kamenetz, 1994, The Jew in the Lotus
May 28, 2008
artoparts commented on the word esoteric
July 30, 2007