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
Synonym Usage
See ambiguous.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cryptic
1595–1605; < Late Latin crypticus < Greek kryptikós hidden. See crypt, -ic
Explanation
"White bunny. Moon square." Do you understand what that means? Of course not! It's totally cryptic. Cryptic comments or messages are hard to understand because they seem to have a hidden meaning. Cryptic is from Late Latin crypticus, from Greek kryptos, "hidden." This Greek adjective is the source of the English noun crypt, referring to a room under a church in which dead people are buried. That might account for why the word cryptic has an eerie tone to it.
Vocabulary lists containing cryptic
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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 band then posted a series of cryptic videos on their official social media channels appearing to tease gigs across the UK and Europe.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
For Daco, if Warsh continues to remain cryptic in his statements, "the political shadow" will only grow.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
He might have fired a cryptic shot at the board for the lack of investment.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
In between the book’s linked stories, Ms. Daanje inserts excerpts from those scant archives—Millicent’s letters, the poems and cryptic jottings from Eliza May’s notebooks—as well as passages from various later biographies of the Draydens.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Two of the evangelists, a man and a woman, held hands and seesawed from side to side like babies being rocked to sleep, singing and humming excerpts from some cryptic hymns.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
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.
