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decipher

 
(dĭ-sī'fər) pronunciation
tr.v., -phered, -pher·ing, -phers.
  1. To read or interpret (ambiguous, obscure, or illegible matter). See synonyms at solve.
  2. To convert from a code or cipher to plain text; decode.
decipherable de·ci'pher·a·ble adj.
decipherer de·ci'pher·er n.
decipherment de·ci'pher·ment n.

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Roget's Thesaurus:

decipher

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verb

  1. To make understandable: construe, explain, explicate, expound, interpret, spell out. Archaic enucleate. Idioms: put into plain English. See explain/baffle.
  2. To find a solution for: clear up, explain, resolve, solve, unravel. Informal dope out, figure out. Idioms: get to the bottom of. See ask/answer, reason/unreason.
  3. To find the key to (a code, for example): break, crack, decrypt, puzzle out. See knowledge/ignorance.


v

Definition: figure out, understand
Antonyms: code, encode, scramble

Word Tutor:

decipher

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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: To figure out the true words or meaning of something that is unclear.

pronunciation The archaeologist was eager to decipher the meaning behind the ancient cave drawings.

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Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'decipher'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to decipher, see:
  • Secrecy and Concealment - decipher: (vb) decode; determine the meaning of (anything obscure or difficult to understand)


  See crossword solutions for the clue Decipher.
Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Decipherment

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Decipherment is the analysis of documents written in ancient languages, where the language is unknown, or knowledge of the language has been lost.

It is closely related to cryptanalysis — the difference being that the original document was not deliberately written to be difficult to decipher.

The term has also been used to describe the analysis of the genetic code information encoded in DNA - see the Human Genome Project article for more on this.

Some people have also used the word metaphorically to mean something like 'understanding'.

Examples of successful script decipherment:

Famous documents that have been the subject of decipherments, successful or failed:

Famous decipherers:

See also

External links


Misspellings:

decipher

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Common misspelling(s) of decipher

  • decypher

Translations:

Decipher

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Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - dechifrere, tyde, afkode

Nederlands (Dutch)
ontcijferen

Français (French)
v. tr. - déchiffrer

Deutsch (German)
v. - dechiffrieren, entziffern

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - αποκρυπτογραφώ, αποκωδικογραφώ, (μτφ.) βγάζω νόημα από

Italiano (Italian)
decifrare

Português (Portuguese)
v. - decifrar

Русский (Russian)
расшифровать

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - descifrar

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - dechiffrera

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
译解, 解释

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 譯解, 解釋

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - (암호 등을) 해독하다, (고서 등을) 판독하다, 판정승

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 解読する, 判読する

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يحل رموز شيفرة, ينجح بفهم معنى شئ كوثيقه أو كتابه قديمه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮פיענח, גילה‬


 
 
Related topics:
uncypher
garble
cryptanalyze

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American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Roget's Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 byHoughton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
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