cryptic

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
(krĭp'tĭk) pronunciation also cryp·ti·cal (-tĭ-kəl)
adj.
  1. Having hidden meaning; mystifying. See synonyms at ambiguous.
  2. Secret or occult.
  3. Using code or cipher.
  4. Biology. Tending to conceal or camouflage: cryptic coloring.

[Late Latin crypticus, from Greek kruptikos, from kruptos, hidden, from kruptein, to hide.]

cryptically cryp'ti·cal·ly adv.
crypticness cryp'tic·ness n.


adj

Definition: secret; obscure in meaning
Antonyms: clear, obvious, plain, seen, straightforward

Word Tutor:

cryptic

Top
pronunciation

IN BRIEF: Mysterious. Also: concealing.

pronunciation A cryptic message was written on the rock by the cave entrance.

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

  1. hidden, secret.
  2. not apparent, unrecognized, masked; e.g. of a medical condition.
  3. (especially of the colouring of an animal) serving to conceal.
  4. of a particle-bound enzyme, that it is not as accessible to substrate as when it has been solubilized.

Previous:cryptate, cryptand, cryotolerant
Next:cryptic plasmid, cryptic splice site, crypticity
Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'cryptic'

Top
Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to cryptic, see:

Top

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - uklar, kryptisk

Nederlands (Dutch)
cryptisch, geheimzinnig, dienend als schutkleur

Français (French)
adj. - énigmatique, sybillin, crypté (jeux)

Deutsch (German)
adj. - rätselhaft, kryptisch

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - απόκρυφος, μυστηριώδης, αινιγματικός

Italiano (Italian)
criptico

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - obscuro

Русский (Russian)
загадочный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - misterioso, secreto

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - kryptisk, förborgad, dunkel, kodad

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
秘密的, 神秘的, 含义模糊的

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 秘密的, 神秘的, 含義模糊的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 숨은, 신비의, 암호를 사용한

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 隠れた, ぶっきらぼうな, 短い

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) مبهم, غامض, مقتضب‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮סודי, כמוס, נסתר‬


Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:

Copyrights:

Mentioned in

router droppings (technology)
flash coloration (ecology)