decipher

[ dih-sahy-fer ]

/ dɪˈsaɪ fər /

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See synonyms for: decipher / deciphering on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

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.

to interpret by the use of a key, as something written in cipher: to decipher a secret message.

Obsolete. to depict; portray.

OTHER WORDS FOR decipher

2 comprehend, solve, unravel, explain.

See synonyms for decipher on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of decipher

1520–30; translation of Middle French déchiffrer.See de-, cipher

OTHER WORDS FROM decipher

de·ci·pher·a·ble, adjectivede·ci·pher·a·bil·i·ty, nounde·ci·pher·er, nounde·ci·pher·ment, noun

un·de·ci·pher·a·ble, adjectiveun·de·ci·pher·a·bly, adverbun·de·ci·phered, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use decipher in a sentence

One of the easier puzzles early in the game finds her needing to decipher the marking on a device that controls the directional orientation of a wooden bridge.
‘Call of the Sea’: Strictly for hardcore puzzlers|Christopher Byrd|January 15, 2021|Washington Post
He could line up in bunch formations and decipher coverages to understand which route to run and how.
All great QBs are linked with great receivers. Aaron Rodgers finally has his match in Davante Adams.|Adam Kilgore|January 15, 2021|Washington Post
The size of it — and the pace it’s moving — makes it hard to decipher which directions teams will go in.
The Nationals’ bullpen doesn’t need a makeover. But it could use another arm or two.|Jesse Dougherty|January 14, 2021|Washington Post
Often, they can’t decipher the difference between actual food and scented items like chapstick, potato chip bags, and snack bar wrappers, which can be fatal.
Once you know what happens to food you leave outdoors, you’ll stop doing it|Alisha McDarris|January 14, 2021|Popular-Science

The case of the Sedition Act reveals that the remedy to these problems cannot be to vest authority in any one body, especially the state, to decipher true from false.
What the 1798 Sedition Act got right — and what it means today|Kaitlyn Carter|January 14, 2021|Washington Post
These are of so remarkable a type as to have puzzled every philologist and paleographer who has attempted their decipherment.
The Swastika|Thomas Wilson
In regard to the history of these monarchies, much light has been obtained from the decipherment of the cuneiform inscriptions.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 2|Various
An antick motto ran round it, and with eyes and fingers we struggled at the decipherment.
The Golden Age|Kenneth Grahame
Before the decipherment of the cuneiform texts our knowledge of its history, however, was scanty and questionable.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 1|Various
The decipherment of the third system of writing long seemed to baffle the inquirer.
A Primer of Assyriology|Archibald Henry Sayce

British Dictionary definitions for decipher

decipher

/ (dɪˈsaɪfə) /

verb (tr)

to determine the meaning of (something obscure or illegible)

to convert from code into plain text; decode

Derived forms of decipher

decipherable, adjectivedecipherability, noundecipherer, noundecipherment, noun

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

decipher

OTHER WORDS FOR decipher

Origin of decipher

OTHER WORDS FROM decipher

Words related to decipher

How to use decipher in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for decipher

Derived forms of decipher