decipher
Americanverb (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.
- 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
-
to determine the meaning of (something obscure or illegible)
-
to convert from code into plain text; decode
Other Word Forms
- decipherability noun
- decipherable adjective
- decipherer noun
- decipherment noun
- undecipherable adjective
- undecipherably adverb
- undeciphered adjective
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
English Words Derived from Arabic
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The City of Ember
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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.
Kandasamy, who runs Mahjong Palace, said there’s a “neuro connective” element to mahjong, and if you’re “taking three seconds to decipher this new Hello Kitty-holding-something on the tile,” that’s precious time lost.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
Their goal was not to decipher the symbols, which remain undecoded, but to measure their structural properties.
From Science Daily • Feb. 25, 2026
"It's hard to decipher what's real and what's not, what's true and what's not true -- people arguing over the exact same video and saying 'this happened, no, that happened.'"
From Barron's • Jan. 25, 2026
Carmel-by-the-Sea has long had its own dispatch center, with workers trained to decipher people’s descriptions of where they live, former Police Chief Paul Tomasi told The Times in 2024.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 22, 2026
Even manual typewriters had been banned, for fear that eavesdroppers could somehow decipher what was being typed from the sound of the keys.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
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.
