decipher
Americanverb (used with object)
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deciphers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
deciphered,
past participle, past
-
deciphering
present participle
-
to make out the meaning of (poor or partially obliterated writing, etc.).
to decipher a hastily scribbled note.
-
to discover the meaning of (anything obscure or difficult to trace or understand).
to decipher hieroglyphics.
- Synonyms:
- explain, unravel, solve, comprehend
-
to interpret by the use of a key, as something written in cipher.
to decipher a secret message.
-
Obsolete. to depict; portray.
verb
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to determine the meaning of (something obscure or illegible)
-
to convert from code into plain text; decode
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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decipherabilitynoun
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decipherernoun
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deciphermentnoun
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decipherableadjective
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undecipherableadjective
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undecipheredadjective
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undecipherablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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deciphersimple
-
decipherssimple
-
have decipheredperfect
-
has decipheredperfect
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am decipheringprogressive
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are decipheringprogressive
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is decipheringprogressive
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have been decipheringperfect progressive
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has been decipheringperfect progressive
Past
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decipheredsimple
-
had decipheredperfect
-
was decipheringprogressive
-
were decipheringprogressive
-
had been decipheringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of decipher
First recorded in 1520–30; translation of Middle French déchiffrer; equivalent to de- + cipher
Explanation
Decipher means translate from code, or more generally, figure out. If you can’t decipher your teacher's writing, it means you can't read it. You might feel like you're being asked to decipher a code. During World War II, the Nazis used a machine called the Enigma to encode secret messages. An operator would type the message with a keyboard, which would activate a set of rotors, giving each letter a different value. The code was difficult for the Allies to crack, but eventually the code was deciphered by the British, hastening the end of the war.
Vocabulary lists containing decipher
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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.
See Examples For:
You don’t need to decide what to watch or decipher subtext and creative interpretation.
From Slate ● Sep. 26, 2026
Those cases were of a single charge, were easier to decipher and involved significantly less evidence.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
Body-language and facial-expression experts regularly claim to be able to decipher, for instance, the unspoken relationships between celebrities on the red carpet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
It’s looking like a year where the winners will be easy to decipher, according to awards prognosticators, which includes The Times’ award columnist Glenn Whipp.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Sorrento, or one of his many “Halliday experts,” had obviously been able to decipher the riddle and locate the Second Gate.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
Cathy, meanwhile, deciphers the key to life through Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland,” a story about a girl like her who survives an upside-down world.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026
Ms. Allen traces pen names, decodes handwriting and deciphers marginalia in Richmond’s correspondence and books.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
The fact that the bat brainstem processes various complex acoustic signals differently can also help scientists to understand how the brain deciphers and processes complex human speech.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 23, 2024
She studies for the driver’s license test with them, deciphers public transportation for them and most of all just lets them know she is here to listen and help.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 26, 2023
But the generation that deciphers these characters will be an intelligent generation, it will understand and say, ‘Not all were asleep in the night of our ancestors!’
From The Social Cancer by Charles E. Derbyshire
After cracking the first, he was given a second which he also deciphered.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
For decades, they remained largely untouched, but researchers have now deciphered them, uncovering texts that range from magical rituals to royal records and everyday administrative notes.
From Science Daily ● May 5, 2026
Signal's end-to-end encryption means that any sent message travels in a scrambled form and can only be deciphered by the end user.
From Barron's ● Apr. 25, 2026
But the point for Kagan in bringing up this legislative history was merely to provide “yet more proof” of statutory meaning already deciphered through “straight-up statutory construction.”
From Slate ● Mar. 4, 2026
Kyle spread out the remaining cookies in his palm: U N F E H A V. He grinned as he deciphered an easy anagram.
From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein
Nor is there anything inherently noble about making employees spend eight hours deciphering orders shouted through crackling speakers while the ice-cream machine is down and a small diplomatic crisis is unfolding in the PlayPlace.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026
Come early to mingle with the cast, in character, of course, who may or may not need your help in deciphering some puzzles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Turing played a crucial role in the Allies' victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two by helping to crack codes and deciphering the infamous Enigma machine at Bletchley Park.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
But the predicament we face in deciphering the Venetian statistics is hardly unique.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
One morning two children pushed open the door and were startled at the sight of a filthy and hairy man who was still deciphering the parchments on the worktable.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
