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View synonyms for cryptic

cryptic

[ krip-tik ]

adjective

  1. mysterious in meaning; puzzling; ambiguous:

    a cryptic message.

    Synonyms: enigmatic

  2. abrupt; terse; short:

    a cryptic note.

  3. secret; occult:

    a cryptic writing.

  4. involving or using cipher, code, etc.
  5. Zoology. fitted for concealing; serving to camouflage.


noun

  1. a cryptogram, especially one designed as a puzzle.

cryptic

/ ˈkrɪptɪk /

adjective

  1. hidden; secret; occult
  2. (esp of comments, sayings, etc) obscure in meaning
  3. (of the coloration of animals) tending to conceal by disguising or camouflaging the shape
“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
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Derived Forms

  • ˈcryptically, adverb
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Other Words From

  • crypti·cal·ly adverb
  • non·cryptic adjective
  • non·crypti·cal adjective
  • non·crypti·cal·ly adverb
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Word History and Origins

Origin of cryptic1

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

Origin of cryptic1

C17: from Late Latin crypticus, from Greek kruptikos, from kruptos concealed; see crypt
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Synonym Study

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Example Sentences

He added: "If he keeps putting comments out, his agent puts out cryptic messages, that is selfish. That is thinking about themselves and not the football club."

From BBC

The BBC was allowed by authorities to sit in on the commissioner's discussion with Chioma as part of our investigation into the cryptic pregnancy scam.

From BBC

Current monitoring methods depend on visual surveys by scientists, which often fail to detect invasive constrictors because they're elusive and cryptic.

Hours before the episode revealing his exit aired, Frick posted a cryptic TikTok of himself in a recording studio, singing lyrics that he also included in the post’s caption: “Ain’t nobody want me anyway.”

A Hawaii woman disappeared after sending a cryptic message to her family and then missing a connecting flight to New York at Los Angeles International Airport, according to her family and police.

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