What does mystique mean?
Word: Mystique
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Mystique means a quality of secrecy and wonder around a person, place or thing that makes it seem special.
How do you spell mystique?
Syllables: mys - tique
Tricky part: The first vowel sound is a short 'i', yet it is written with a y. Students who trust their ears begin the word with mis.
Watch out for: mistique, mystiuqe
Memory tip: Someone with this quality keeps you asking why, so let the y of why sit in the first syllable.
Mystique in a sentence
Example 1: The old lighthouse has kept its mystique, for few people have ever seen inside it.
Example 2: Part of the singer's mystique is that she never gives interviews.
Example 3: Once the guide explained how the cave paintings were made, some of their mystique faded.
Fun Fact
English took this word from French, which is why the stress falls on the second syllable and not on the first as in mystery.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
myst_qu_
a) a, e
b) i, a
c) i, e
d) e, e
Show answer
c) i, e. The long sound here is spelt as in unique and antique.
Mingle-Mangle
Unscramble the jumbled word in the sentence and choose the correct word:
The magician protects the qeytsium of his act by never explaining a single trick.
a) mistaken
b) mystique
c) mosquito
d) mystical
Show answer
b) mystique. The q settles it at once: mosquito needs an o and no y, and the other two have no q at all.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word mystique as used in the sentence:
A certain mystique surrounds the old observatory on the hill.
a) crowd
b) doubt
c) aura
d) habit
Show answer
c) aura. An aura is a special feeling that seems to surround a place, and that fits the observatory.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is misspelt. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. quandry 2. wistful 3. opulent 4. mystique
a) an air of secret charm around someone
b) a state of not knowing what to do
c) rich and costly in appearance
d) sadly thinking of what might have been
Show answer
b) a state of not knowing what to do. Quandary needs an a after the d; the other three words are correct.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A writer would add most to her mystique by ____.
a) reading aloud at the town library
b) answering each letter the same day
c) using a secret name on every book
d) printing her books on thinner paper
Show answer
c) using a secret name on every book
2. A place or an act is most likely to lose its mystique when ____.
a) its entrance fee goes down a little
b) its secret is shown to everyone
c) its visitors come on a weekend
d) its name is printed in a new font
Show answer
b) its secret is shown to everyone
