cryptic
Americanadjective
-
mysterious in meaning; puzzling; ambiguous.
a cryptic message.
- Synonyms:
- enigmatic
-
abrupt; terse; short.
a cryptic note.
-
secret; occult.
a cryptic writing.
-
involving or using cipher, code, etc.
-
Zoology. fitted for concealing; serving to camouflage.
noun
adjective
-
hidden; secret; occult
-
(esp of comments, sayings, etc) obscure in meaning
-
(of the coloration of animals) tending to conceal by disguising or camouflaging the shape
Related Words
See ambiguous.
Other Word Forms
- cryptically adverb
- noncryptic adjective
- noncryptical adjective
- noncryptically adverb
Etymology
Origin of cryptic
1595–1605; < Late Latin crypticus < Greek kryptikós hidden. See crypt, -ic
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 sharp contrast between ancients and moderns, the tight syllabus of great books and the insistence that these books often bear cryptic meanings—all are Straussian signatures.
"There's progress today on certain things. I don't want to be cryptic, but I would hate to say something was certain and it fell away."
From BBC
Many are what scientists call cryptic species, meaning they are visually almost impossible to tell apart.
From Science Daily
He gave an interview to The New Statesman, which carried the less than cryptic headline "Andy Burnham's plan for Britain."
From BBC
By then DeChambeau had posted a cryptic photo of him staring next to an 'exit' sign, along with a message asking his followers 'What would you do?'
From BBC
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.
