Cryptic

Cryptic
Cryptic Cryp"tic (kr[i^]p"t[i^]k), Cryptical Cryp"tic*al (-t?-kal), a. [L. crypticus, Gr. kryptiko`s, fr. kry`ptein to hide.] Hidden; secret; occult. ``Her [nature's] more cryptic ways of working.'' --Glanvill. [1913 Webster]

2. incomprehensible to those not familiar with the culture or jargon; as, the new insurance policy is written without cryptic or mysterious terms.

Syn: inscrutable, mysterious, mystifying. [WordNet 1.5]

3. having a secret or hidden meaning; as, cryptic symbols engraved in stone; cryptic writings.

Syn: cabalistic, occult, secret, sibylline. [WordNet 1.5]

3. having a puzzling terseness; as, a cryptic note. [WordNet 1.5]

4. not evident; unrecognized; as, a cryptic infection. [PJC]

5. written in a code or cipher; as, a cryptic message.

Syn: encoded, enciphered, encrypted. [PJC]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • cryptic — [krip′tik] adj. [LL crypticus < Gr kryptikos < kryptos: see CRYPT] 1. a) having a hidden or ambiguous meaning; mysterious; baffling [a cryptic comment] b) obscure and curt in expression 2. Zool. serving to conceal, as the form or coloring… …   English World dictionary

  • cryptic — index covert, debatable, disputable, enigmatic, esoteric, hidden, indefinable, indefinite, indeterminate …   Law dictionary

  • cryptic — 1630s, hidden, occult, mystical, from L.L. crypticus, from Gk. kryptikos fit for concealing, from kryptos hidden (see CRYPT (Cf. crypt)). Meaning mysterious, enigmatic is recorded from 1920. Related: Cryptically …   Etymology dictionary

  • cryptic — enigmatic, *obscure, dark, vague, ambiguous, equivocal Analogous words: puzzling, perplexing, mystifying (see PUZZLE vb): occult, esoteric, *recondite: *mysterious, arcane …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • cryptic — [adj] secret; obscure in meaning abstruse, ambiguous, apocryphal, arcane, cabalistic, dark, Delphian, Delphic, enigmatic, equivocal, esoteric, evasive, hidden, incomprehensible, inexplicable, murky, mysterious, mystic, mystical, mystifying,… …   New thesaurus

  • cryptic — ► ADJECTIVE 1) mysterious or obscure in meaning. 2) (of a crossword) having difficult clues which indicate the solutions indirectly. 3) Zoology serving to camouflage an animal in its natural environment. DERIVATIVES cryptically adverb. ORIGIN… …   English terms dictionary

  • cryptic — adjective Etymology: Late Latin crypticus, from Greek kryptikos, from kryptos Date: circa 1638 1. secret, occult 2. a. having or seeming to have a hidden or ambiguous meaning ; mysterious …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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  • cryptic — Anything hidden. 1. Structurally heterozygous individuals that are not identifiable as they do not show abnormal meiotic chromosome pairing configurations ( cryptic structural hybrids ). 2. A form of polymorphism controlled by recessive genes (… …   Glossary of Biotechnology

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