Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of, relating to, or dealing with supernatural or magical influences, agencies, or occurrences.
  • adjective Available only to the initiate; secret or mysterious: synonym: mysterious.
  • adjective Beyond the realm of human comprehension; inscrutable.
  • adjective Hidden from view; concealed.
  • adjective Medicine Detectable only by microscopic examination or chemical analysis, as a minute blood sample.
  • adjective Not accompanied by readily detectable signs or symptoms.
  • noun Occult practices or techniques.
  • intransitive verb To conceal or cause to disappear from view.
  • intransitive verb Astronomy To conceal by occultation.
  • intransitive verb To become concealed or extinguished at regular intervals.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Not apparent upon mere inspection, nor deducible from what is so apparent, but discoverable only by experimentation; relating to what is thus undiscoverable by mere inspection: opposed to manifest.
  • Mysterious; transcendental; beyond the bounds of natural knowledge.
  • Synonyms Latent, Covert, etc. (see secret), unrevealed, recondite, abstruse, veiled, shrouded, mystic, cabalistic.
  • To cut off from view by the intervention of another body; hide; conceal; eclipse.
  • To undergo occultation; be hidden or concealed, as a star or the intermittent beam of light from a lighthouse.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To eclipse; to hide from sight.
  • adjective Hidden from the eye or the understanding; invisible; secret; concealed; unknown.
  • adjective (Geom.) a line drawn as a part of the construction of a figure or problem, but not to appear in the finished plan.
  • adjective those qualities whose effects only were observed, but the nature and relations of whose productive agencies were undetermined; -- so called by the schoolmen.
  • adjective those sciences of the Middle Ages which related to the supposed action or influence of occult qualities, or supernatural powers, as alchemy, magic, necromancy, and astrology.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive, astronomy To cover or hide from view.
  • verb transitive, rare To dissimulate, conceal, or obfuscate.
  • adjective medicine Secret; hidden from general knowledge; undetected
  • adjective Related to the occult; pertaining to mysticism, magic, or astrology.
  • adjective Esoteric.
  • noun Supernatural affairs.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun supernatural forces and events and beings collectively
  • verb cause an eclipse of (a celestial body) by intervention
  • adjective hidden and difficult to see
  • noun supernatural practices and techniques
  • verb hide from view
  • adjective having an import not apparent to the senses nor obvious to the intelligence; beyond ordinary understanding
  • verb become concealed or hidden from view or have its light extinguished

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin occultus, secret, past participle of occulere, to cover over; see kel- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin occultō ("hide, keep secret").

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Examples

  • WORDS ACCENTED ON THE LAST SYLLABLE: address _address'_ adept _adept'_ adult _adult'_ ally _ally'_ commandant _commandänt '(ä as in arm) _ contour _contour'_ dessert _dessert'_ dilate _dilate'_ excise _eksiz'_ finance _finance'_ grimace _grimace'_ importune _importune'_ occult _occult'_ pretence _pretence'_ research _research'_ robust _robust'_ romance _romance'_ tirade _tirade'_

    Practical Grammar and Composition Thomas Wood

  • Many people think the word psychic is synonymous with the word occult and, therefore, connected with Satan.

    CREATE YOUR OWN FUTURE Jennifer Ann Daddio 2003

  • Many people think the word psychic is synonymous with the word occult and, therefore, connected with Satan.

    CREATE YOUR OWN FUTURE Jennifer Ann Daddio 2003

  • Astronomers refer to this phenomenon as an "occultation," taken from the Latin word occultÄre, which means "to conceal."

    Livescience.com 2008

  • Even nowadays, the following injunction may be found in occult schools: “know, dare, do, and be silent.”

    Hand Signed | SciFi, Fantasy & Horror Collectibles 2009

  • Like the many hand gestures described herein, the Sign of Resignation generates a certain occult power of which we shall discuss later in an upcoming article when we apply and incorporate the sign in our mudra practices.

    Hand Signed | SciFi, Fantasy & Horror Collectibles 2009

  • The arcanum "could have happened", basically, if we believe in occult systems which transcend the laws of nature.

    Archive 2008-08-01 Hal Duncan 2008

  • The arcanum "could have happened", basically, if we believe in occult systems which transcend the laws of nature.

    Notes on Strange Fiction: Seams Hal Duncan 2008

  • Although the theme of enlightenment vs. occult is ... okay, there I go, being too close to the material again.

    Traitor to the Crown 2008

  • Lowdown: The occult is a grace note in this cynical whodunit, juicy with periodic detail.

    March 2007 2007

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