decipher
Americanverb (used with object)
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to make out the meaning of (poor or partially obliterated writing, etc.).
to decipher a hastily scribbled note.
-
to discover the meaning of (anything obscure or difficult to trace or understand).
to decipher hieroglyphics.
- Synonyms:
- explain, unravel, solve, comprehend
-
to interpret by the use of a key, as something written in cipher.
to decipher a secret message.
-
Obsolete. to depict; portray.
verb
-
to determine the meaning of (something obscure or illegible)
-
to convert from code into plain text; decode
Other Word Forms
- decipherability noun
- decipherable adjective
- decipherer noun
- decipherment noun
- undecipherable adjective
- undecipherably adverb
- undeciphered adjective
Etymology
Origin of decipher
First recorded in 1520–30; translation of Middle French déchiffrer; equivalent to de- + cipher
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Their goal was not to decipher the symbols, which remain undecoded, but to measure their structural properties.
From Science Daily • Feb. 25, 2026
"It's hard to decipher what's real and what's not, what's true and what's not true -- people arguing over the exact same video and saying 'this happened, no, that happened.'"
From Barron's • Jan. 25, 2026
Carmel-by-the-Sea has long had its own dispatch center, with workers trained to decipher people’s descriptions of where they live, former Police Chief Paul Tomasi told The Times in 2024.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 22, 2026
That said, economists and central bankers have an ongoing intellectual debate to decipher whether AI is indeed the reason for the rise in productivity.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 7, 2026
‘What does the writing say?’ asked Frodo, who was trying to decipher the inscription on the arch.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
