cryptic
- mysterious in meaning; puzzling; ambiguous: a cryptic message.
- abrupt; terse; short: a cryptic note.
- secret; occult: a cryptic writing.
- involving or using cipher, code, etc.
- Zoology. fitted for concealing; serving to camouflage.
- a cryptogram, especially one designed as a puzzle.
Origin of cryptic
Synonyms for cryptic
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comSynonym study
Related Words for cryptic
enigmatic, ambiguous, veiled, equivocal, strange, arcane, mysterious, incomprehensible, vague, abstruse, apocryphal, cabalistic, dark, esoteric, evasive, hidden, inexplicable, murky, mystic, mysticalExamples from the Web for cryptic
Contemporary Examples of cryptic
Even as early as December 4, remarks from inside the bubble were cryptic and frightened.
He was like some cryptic English-Chekhovian figure, playing out the last days of his private, imagined Raj.
Kurant has crafted a new, cryptic narrative in which the three redundant characters come together in a wrecking yard.
I also think Damian Lewis's performance was stellar in episode after episode: vivid, cryptic, and (against all odds) believable.
She wants an explanation of the cryptic glares and whispers, but they disappear.
Historical Examples of cryptic
"A Wade check is always honored," was his cryptic assertion.
DustMr. and Mrs. Haldeman-Julius
When he spoke, his words were cryptic to all those in the room.
Philo Gubb Correspondence-School DetectiveEllis Parker Butler
"Conditions have not been wholly favorable," was the cryptic reply.
It's All YoursSam Merwin
"We-all'll come 'long when we's bid," was Jess' cryptic retort.
Peggy Stewart at SchoolGabrielle E. Jackson
"I believe in the belief of the guides," was my cryptic rejoinder.
The Shadow WorldHamlin Garland
cryptic
cryptical
- 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
Word Origin for cryptic
Word Origin and History for cryptic
1630s, "hidden, occult, mystical," from Late Latin crypticus, from Greek kryptikos "fit for concealing," from kryptos "hidden" (see crypt). Meaning "mysterious, enigmatic" is recorded from 1920. Related: Cryptically.
cryptic
(krĭp′tĭk)- Hidden or concealed.
- Tending to conceal or camouflage, as the coloring of an animal.