Dictionary.com

cryptic

[ krip-tik ]
/ ˈkrɪp tɪk /
Save This Word!

adjective Also cryp·ti·cal.
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.
noun
a cryptogram, especially one designed as a puzzle.

OTHER WORDS FOR cryptic

1 enigmatic, perplexing.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?

Origin of cryptic

1595–1605; <Late Latin crypticus<Greek kryptikós hidden. See crypt, -ic

synonym study for cryptic

1. See ambiguous.

OTHER WORDS FROM cryptic

cryp·ti·cal·ly, adverbnon·cryp·tic, adjectivenon·cryp·ti·cal, adjectivenon·cryp·ti·cal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cryptic in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cryptic

cryptic

cryptical

/ (ˈkrɪptɪk) /

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

Derived forms of cryptic

cryptically, adverb

Word Origin for cryptic

C17: from Late Latin crypticus, from Greek kruptikos, from kruptos concealed; see crypt
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
FEEDBACK