numinous
Filled with mystery
Numinous describes the presence of the divine or supernatural—a sense of awe mixed with mystery that suggests something beyond ordinary experience.
The word often appears in religious or spiritual contexts: the numinous quality of the ancient temple, a numinous feeling in the forest at dawn.
Something numinous inspires reverence without necessarily being understood.
Sacred ritual table
- blessedReceiving divine favor
- consecratedDeclared sacred through ritual
- hallowedMade or regarded holy
- holyDedicated to the divine
pilgrimage · relic · shrine · temple · tabernacle · sanctuary · sanctum · hieratic
Delicate beyond earthly measure
- sublimeAwe-inspiring greatness
- transcendenceSurpassing usual limits
- enlightenmentProfound spiritual awakening
- ascensionMovement to higher position
metaphysical · supernal · empyrean · beatific · ecstatic · rapture · exalted · satori
Accessible to few
- arcaneUnderstood by few
- occultConcealed from view
- enigmaSomething hard to fathom
- oracleAuthoritative wisdom source
shamanism · vision · trance · ineffable · mysterium · uncanny · liminal · threshold
Profound admiring respect
- wonderAmazement or curiosity
- sublimeAwe-inspiring greatness
- marvelAstonishing thing or feeling
- amazementOverwhelming surprise and wonder
astonishment · veneration · majesty · grandeur · speechless · breathtaking · overwhelming · stupefaction
Worshipped supernatural being
- godheadEssential nature of deity
- theophanyVisible appearance of deity
- omnipotentHaving boundless power
- omniscientUnlimited in awareness
creator · almighty · supreme · heavenly · celestial · holiness · worship · devotion
Visible supernatural manifestation
- manifestationOutward display of something
- encounterUnexpected meeting or confrontation
- visitationOfficial or formal visit
- revelationSurprising disclosed truth
epiphany · haunting · uncanny · atmosphere · luminosity · radiance · shimmering · charged
altar
Sacred ritual table
- blessedReceiving divine favor
- consecratedDeclared sacred through ritual
- hallowedMade or regarded holy
holy · pilgrimage · relic · shrine · temple · tabernacle · sanctuary · sanctum · hieratic · torii
ethereal
Delicate beyond earthly measure
- sublimeAwe-inspiring greatness
- transcendenceSurpassing usual limits
- enlightenmentProfound spiritual awakening
ascension · metaphysical · supernal · empyrean · beatific · ecstatic · rapture · exalted · satori · moksha
esoteric
Accessible to few
oracle · shamanism · vision · trance · ineffable · mysterium · uncanny · liminal · threshold · veil
reverence
Profound admiring respect
amazement · astonishment · veneration · majesty · grandeur · speechless · breathtaking · overwhelming · stupefaction · bewilderment
deity
Worshipped supernatural being
- godheadEssential nature of deity
- theophanyVisible appearance of deity
- omnipotentHaving boundless power
omniscient · creator · almighty · supreme · heavenly · celestial · holiness · worship · devotion · sanctity
apparition
Visible supernatural manifestation
- manifestationOutward display of something
- encounterUnexpected meeting or confrontation
- visitationOfficial or formal visit
revelation · epiphany · haunting · uncanny · atmosphere · luminosity · radiance · shimmering · charged · palpable
- sacredholy, sacred, sanctity, sacredness, holiness
- Mysticalethereal, otherworldly, supernatural, transcendent, ineffable
- fancy wordsgrandiloquent, magniloquent, sesquipedalian, pulchritudinous, tintinnabulation
- mysticismmystic, gnosis, divine union, divine spark, mystical
- sublimesublimity, grandeur, vastness, awe, majesty
- Roman religionJupiter, Mars, Venus, Apollo, Neptune
numinousprofane
Irreverent toward the sacred
secular · desacralized · unholy · godless · unhallowed
numinousmundane
Commonplace, lacking excitement
ordinary · prosaic · commonplace · everyday · unremarkable
numinousprofane
Irreverent toward the sacred
unholy · desecrated · defiled · unsanctified · unconsecrated