Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Having hidden meaning; mystifying. synonym: mysterious.
- adjective Secret or occult.
- adjective Using code or cipher.
- adjective Biology Tending to conceal or camouflage.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Hidden; secret; occult.
- noun The art of recording any discourse so that the meaning is concealed from ordinary readers.
- In biology, serving to conceal or fitted for concealing an organism.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Hidden; secret; occult.
- adjective incomprehensible to those not familiar with the culture or jargon.
- adjective having a secret or hidden meaning.
- adjective having a puzzling terseness.
- adjective not evident; unrecognized.
- adjective written in a code or cipher.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Having hidden meaning.
- adjective Mystified or of an obscure nature.
- adjective Involving use of code or
cipher /cypher . - adjective zoology Well camouflaged; having good camouflage.
- noun informal A
cryptic crossword .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective of an obscure nature
- adjective having a secret or hidden meaning
- adjective having a puzzling terseness
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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I call it cryptic rhyme because I write short, clipped, descriptive verses that paint vivid, concise pictures using almost no full sentences.
Writer Unboxed » Blog Archive » INTERVIEW: Verla Kay, Part 1 2008
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Here are a couple of verses written in cryptic rhyme from some of my currently published books.
Writer Unboxed » Blog Archive » INTERVIEW: Verla Kay, Part 1 2008
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You have more guts than I do because I remain cryptic on my blog but you and I are in the same place.
Untitled Jessica 2007
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I bring it to you vintage wine in a bottle new its in Hindi cryptic on cue shot at my house by a friendly camera crew giving a devil his bejeweled sartorial due
Archive 2009-10-01 photographerno1 2009
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Good: [begin cryptic] Am getting the coolest of all possible presents.
November 21st, 2005 moriarty6 2005
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My Mesdames communicated with each other in cryptic ways, but after all my years in their company I was privy to their keys.
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Although T.Q.D.'s recent songs have lightened up a bit compared with older lyrics that he described as "cryptic," almost all of "Taketh Away" addresses topics from love to day-to-day struggles in a serious tone.
www.startribune.com 2012
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"That's called 'cryptic foreshadowing,' " Ashley gasped.
The Horror Movie That Was Only in My Head Merrill Markoe 2011
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In the forests the endemic species include, for example, a new genus and species only named a few years ago called the cryptic warbler (Cryptosylvicola randrianasoloi), the yellow-browed oxylabes (Crossleyia xanthophrys), and the brown emutail (Dromaeocercus brunneus).
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When you must converse with others, you speak a cryptic language of acronyms decipherable only by another geek.
Archive 2007-05-01 kludge 2007
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