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.
“We don’t fully understand this. They are a cryptic species.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Are the women in Vermeer’s light-filled interiors cryptic embodiments of Collegiant doctrine or secularized Jesuit motifs?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
"Grasshoppers are cryptic species, they hide because they're tasty. When they're quite pink, they can't hide as well," Halpin said.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
A Microsoft Windows social media account posted the same cryptic message.
From Barron's ● Jun. 1, 2026
Overhead signs with cryptic symbols and writing come and go before I can decipher them.
From "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon
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.
