decipher
verb
de·ci·pher
dē-ˈsī-fər 
deciphered; deciphering; deciphers
1
: decode sense 1a
decipher a secret message
2
obsolete
: depict
with her majesty's name deciphered in gold letters—
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift3
a
: to make out the meaning of despite indistinctness or obscurity
trying to decipher her handwriting
b
: to interpret the meaning of
decipher the poem
Examples of decipher in a Sentence
I couldn't decipher his sloppy handwriting.
we deciphered the hidden message to find out when we were supposed to meet
Recent Examples on the Web
The Swedish businessman—who started out his career with Ericsson and worked his way up the tech giant to president before holding executive roles at the likes of Sony, Blackberry, and Logitech—has figured out a way of deciphering whether or not a job offer is going to be the right move for him.
—Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 15 Sep. 2023
Indeed, its Chronicling America project consists of over 20 million scans of historical newspapers, some of them dating back to 17th century, along with digital versions of the text deciphered by optical character recognition software.
—The Physics Arxiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 12 Sep. 2023
Jurassic era avialans are a critical key to deciphering the evolutionary origin of the avialan body, and this elusive group is key to piecing together the origin of birds.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 6 Sep. 2023
Birders were able to decipher a unique alphanumeric code on a flamingo that had been banded at Río Lagartos, a breeding colony in Mexico, Lorenz said.
—Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 5 Sep. 2023
For instance, in order to decipher clay tablet inscriptions or trace the evolution of living tongues, linguists must grapple with questions that extend beyond language.
—Lucy Tu, Scientific American, 24 Aug. 2023
It was supposed to wrap up this month, with all of the collected data and Day’s gut deciphering C.J. Stroud’s successor.
—Nathan Baird, cleveland, 22 Aug. 2023
His pages are often wordless and atmospheric, displaying a restrained ingenuity that encourages us to look closer and decipher.
—Kay Sohini, Washington Post, 15 Sep. 2023
Like other forms of crime, deciphering why violence against officers rises or falls is nuanced.
—Lyndsay Winkley, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2023
See More
Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 15 Sep. 2023
Indeed, its Chronicling America project consists of over 20 million scans of historical newspapers, some of them dating back to 17th century, along with digital versions of the text deciphered by optical character recognition software.
—The Physics Arxiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 12 Sep. 2023
Jurassic era avialans are a critical key to deciphering the evolutionary origin of the avialan body, and this elusive group is key to piecing together the origin of birds.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 6 Sep. 2023
Birders were able to decipher a unique alphanumeric code on a flamingo that had been banded at Río Lagartos, a breeding colony in Mexico, Lorenz said.
—Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 5 Sep. 2023
For instance, in order to decipher clay tablet inscriptions or trace the evolution of living tongues, linguists must grapple with questions that extend beyond language.
—Lucy Tu, Scientific American, 24 Aug. 2023
It was supposed to wrap up this month, with all of the collected data and Day’s gut deciphering C.J. Stroud’s successor.
—Nathan Baird, cleveland, 22 Aug. 2023
His pages are often wordless and atmospheric, displaying a restrained ingenuity that encourages us to look closer and decipher.
—Kay Sohini, Washington Post, 15 Sep. 2023
Like other forms of crime, deciphering why violence against officers rises or falls is nuanced.
—Lyndsay Winkley, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'decipher.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1545, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near decipher
Cite this Entry
“Decipher.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decipher. Accessed 1 Oct. 2023.
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Kids Definition
decipher
verb
de·ci·pher
di-ˈsī-fər
1
: to convert into understandable form
especially
: decode
2
: to make out the meaning of despite lack of clearness
decipher sloppy handwriting
More from Merriam-Webster on decipher
Nglish: Translation of decipher for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of decipher for Arabic Speakers
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