1
2
as in numbers
a person of no importance or influence
it was either write the Great American Novel or be consigned to the status of a cipher in the annals of literature
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in figures
to determine (a value) by doing the necessary mathematical operations
were surprised by how much we had spent on the cruise after we had ciphered out the grand total
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ciphers
Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 21 Feb. 2026
The Blind Owl is extremely dense, brimming with metaphors and ciphers and symbols.
—Amir Ahmadi Arian, The Dial, 15 Jan. 2026
Like Dostoyevsky, Capote doesn’t portray his killers as demonic ciphers, instead capturing their messy complexity.
—Patrick Radden Keefe, New Yorker, 11 Jan. 2026
Two streetlamps engaged in a mute but luminous dialogue, an indecipherable Morse code, alluding to the silent exchanges and secret ciphers of strangers who meet there for their trysts.
—Javier Montes, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2026
Such ciphers are easy to crack using techniques such as checking letter frequency and identifying common patterns.
—PC Magazine, 7 Oct. 2025
She, the cinema; he, the audience — these ciphers would be compelling in short-form, but in carrying a feature they’re only buoyed by the natural chemistry of their performers.
—Blake Simons, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2025
Most organizations have little to no understanding of what cryptographic ciphers, keys and protocols are in use across their networks, applications and devices.
—Anand Oswal, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
During this time, three judges are going to watch the ciphers and pick the top four breakers for the adult category and the top four breakers for the youth category.
—Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Aug. 2025
Noun
The still-unidentified Zodiac Killer, who terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1960s, frequently sent threats, demands and ciphers to multiple local papers — namely the San Francisco Chronicle.
—Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 21 Feb. 2026
The Blind Owl is extremely dense, brimming with metaphors and ciphers and symbols.
—Amir Ahmadi Arian, The Dial, 15 Jan. 2026
Like Dostoyevsky, Capote doesn’t portray his killers as demonic ciphers, instead capturing their messy complexity.
—Patrick Radden Keefe, New Yorker, 11 Jan. 2026
Two streetlamps engaged in a mute but luminous dialogue, an indecipherable Morse code, alluding to the silent exchanges and secret ciphers of strangers who meet there for their trysts.
—Javier Montes, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2026
Such ciphers are easy to crack using techniques such as checking letter frequency and identifying common patterns.
—PC Magazine, 7 Oct. 2025
She, the cinema; he, the audience — these ciphers would be compelling in short-form, but in carrying a feature they’re only buoyed by the natural chemistry of their performers.
—Blake Simons, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2025
Most organizations have little to no understanding of what cryptographic ciphers, keys and protocols are in use across their networks, applications and devices.
—Anand Oswal, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
During this time, three judges are going to watch the ciphers and pick the top four breakers for the adult category and the top four breakers for the youth category.
—Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ciphers
Noun
-
Gu explained that modern computers store data as a series of zeros and ones.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Mar. 2026
-
Newer plates have a slash through zeros, which could cause them to be confused with the number eight.—
Chilekasi Adele,
CBS News,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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First there is the free agency period that figures to be low on drama beyond the likely departure of Tagovailoa.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
4 Mar. 2026
-
On the surface, Anderson figures to slot into the end of Minnesota’s rotation with minutes as either the team’s eighth or ninth man.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
3 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Seattle’s John Schneider and New England’s Eliot Wolf rose up from young nobodies to graduate from Green Bay Packers University, too.—
Dave Hyde,
Sun Sentinel,
7 Feb. 2026
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Where else could award winning writers pop off about nothing at all, and nobodies could rattle the ivory towers?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Xeneta’s congestion ratio calculates the number of ships waiting to call at the port divided by the total number of vessels already docked.—
Glenn Taylor,
Sourcing Journal,
9 Mar. 2026
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That measurement calculates the angle from where the avalanche started to where the runout ends.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
In the lightweights, Cash McClurg (108 pounds) and Emilio Escobar (120) won titles, the latter winning 21-5 for a technical fall.—
Breven Honda,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Feb. 2026
-
Hughes is one of the world's top lightweights in MMA, the sport where McGregor built his following and name.—
Brian Mazique,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The varied genus offers tall and creeping varieties, all with succulent leaves that shrug off insects.—
Jamie McIntosh,
The Spruce,
3 Mar. 2026
-
These insects only emerge from their winter naps when temperatures warm up to a certain point.—
Anne Readel,
Better Homes & Gardens,
3 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
At scale, this dwarfs data center optimization gains.—
Arjun Sharma,
IEEE Spectrum,
17 Feb. 2026
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The ditch that’s up to 19 feet deep dwarfs the heavy machinery inside of it.—
Eleanor Nash,
Kansas City Star,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ciphers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ciphers. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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