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.
These cryptic posts are meant to skirt secrecy rules, since officials’ names and résumés generally aren’t considered sensitive.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
There have been cryptic and conflicting messages on the project's location for months, with Tanzania and the Kenyan port of Mombasa also mooted.
From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026
They spotted trucks with cryptic labels like "GP" and "garden party" on it and crews unloading tons of equipment and things like large white staircase prop and large mirror ball.
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 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
We can send notes, telephone, whisper cryptic invitations, announce the giving of parties, even bounce words off the moon and make them carom around the planets.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
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.
