decipher

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verb de·ci·pher \ dē-ˈsī-fər \

Definition of decipher

transitive verb

1 :decode 1a

decipher a secret message

2 obsolete :depict

with her majesty's name deciphered in gold letters
—Jonathan Swift

3 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

—

decipherable

play \-f(ə-)rə-bəl\ adjective

—

decipherer

play \-fər-ər\ noun

—

decipherment

play \-fər-mənt\ noun

See decipher defined for English-language learners

See decipher defined for kids

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 of decipher from the Web

But the language is complicated and, at times, difficult to decipher.

— david lyman, Cincinnati.com, "The struggle is real for Shakespeare in the Park actors," 11 Aug. 2017
Duplissea has proven to be among the best in the league at deciphering which plays to challenge.

— rustin dodd, kansascity, "Royals’ Ned Yost after homer review: ‘Why don’t they paint the poles black?’," 4 Aug. 2017
Sater was skilled at deciphering financial fraud, and as is often the case, the same things that made him a successful criminal — his ingratiating charm, his street smarts, his ability to see all the angles — made him a very useful government asset.

— andrew rice, Daily Intelligencer, "The Original Russia Connection," 3 Aug. 2017
This contributes to neuronal diversity, important to understand when trying to decipher how the brain works.

— bradley j. fikes, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Plants, brains, engineered networks share unifying principles," 31 July 2017
Sampaoli is known for being a comprehensive researcher of the opposition, looking to decipher anything that a team may give away in order to get a winning edge.

— luis miguel echegaray, SI.com, "Angel Di Maria: On Dani Alves, Neymar and Rebounding With PSG," 21 July 2017
An app helps festivalgoers decipher exactly what is happening where, though most of the larger concerts require ticket purchases in advance.

— natalie weiner, Billboard, "Bob Dylan, Carly Rae Jepsen and More Highlight the Montreal International Jazz Festival," 6 July 2017
One of Germany’s states has provided a big boost for biologists who want to decipher the genomes of organisms that don’t get much attention.

— elizabeth pennisi, Science | AAAS, "Germans provide big boost for sequencing often ignored organisms," 6 July 2017
After news of the names broke, fans immediately took to social media to decipher the unique monikers.

— karen mizoguchi, PEOPLE.com, "Is Beyoncé and JAY-Z’s Baby Named After a Famous Poet? Fans React to Names Rumi and Sir," 1 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'decipher.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of decipher

1545

decipher Synonyms

Synonyms

break, crack, decode, decrypt

Antonyms

cipher, code, encipher, encode, encrypt

Related Words

descramble, unscramble; render, translate; dope (out), figure out, puzzle (out), solve, unravel, unriddle, work, work out

Near Antonyms

garble, jumble (up), mix (up)

DECIPHER Defined for English Language Learners

decipher

play

verb

Definition of decipher for English Language Learners

: to find the meaning of (something that is difficult to read or understand)

DECIPHER Defined for Kids

decipher

play

verb de·ci·pher \ dē-ˈsī-fər \

Definition of decipher for Students

deciphered; deciphering

1 :to translate from secret or mysterious writing :decode

2 :to make out the meaning of something not clear

I can't decipher her sloppy handwriting.

Learn More about decipher

See words that rhyme with decipher Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for decipher Spanish Central: Translation of decipher Nglish: Translation of decipher for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of decipher for Arabic speakers

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decipher

Definition of decipher

decipherable

decipherer

decipherment

From the M-W Editors

Examples of decipher in a Sentence

Recent Examples of decipher from the Web

First Known Use of decipher

decipher Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

DECIPHER Defined for English Language Learners

decipher

Definition of decipher for English Language Learners

DECIPHER Defined for Kids

decipher

Definition of decipher for Students

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Seen and Heard

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