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
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to interpret by the use of a key, as something written in cipher.
to decipher a secret message.
-
Obsolete. to depict; portray.
verb
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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.
The recent government shutdown complicated the efforts of economists to decipher where the economy is heading, depriving them of some government-collected data they need to read the tea leaves.
Then a law-enforcement officer wrote a new computer program that finally deciphered the information.
The data turned out to be essential to cracking the case, the people said, a breakthrough that happened only recently when a tech-savvy law-enforcement officer wrote a new computer program that finally deciphered the information.
The English section of South Korea's gruelling college entrance exam, or Suneung, is notoriously difficult, with some students comparing it to deciphering an ancient script, and others calling it "insane".
From BBC
Even for policy wonks, it’s a challenge to keep up with the cadence of discounts and negotiated prices while deciphering what is merely optics and what represents actual savings.
From MarketWatch
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.
