1
as in to crack
to change (as a secret message) from code into ordinary language
we deciphered the hidden message to find out when we were supposed to meet
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to understand
to have a clear idea of
a convoluted thriller, the plot of which I was never able to actually decipher
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of decipher
Body camera footage of the standoff shows a scuffle, but deciphering exactly what happened from the video and photos is difficult.
—
Jared Gans, The Hill, 21 May 2025
Sometimes, Tarhan explained, women will flip the cups over and try and try to decipher the meaning left behind by the coffee sediment — kind of like reading your fortune in tea leaves.
—Samantha Husted, Charlotte Observer, 12 May 2025
Finally, Ross helps boost your energy intelligence to decipher when rest requires slowing down and when it’s achieved by accelerating in a new, reinvigorating direction.
—Serenity Gibbons, Forbes.com, 12 June 2025
Experts are still working to decipher exactly where the artifact is from.
—Rachel Flynn, People.com, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for decipher
Jared Gans, The Hill, 21 May 2025
Sometimes, Tarhan explained, women will flip the cups over and try and try to decipher the meaning left behind by the coffee sediment — kind of like reading your fortune in tea leaves.
—Samantha Husted, Charlotte Observer, 12 May 2025
Finally, Ross helps boost your energy intelligence to decipher when rest requires slowing down and when it’s achieved by accelerating in a new, reinvigorating direction.
—Serenity Gibbons, Forbes.com, 12 June 2025
Experts are still working to decipher exactly where the artifact is from.
—Rachel Flynn, People.com, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for decipher
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decipher
Verb
-
Whoever cracks this first could use a first mover’s advantage to build a hard-to-beat flywheel of highly engaged, big-spending consumers that attracts partner brands and retailers that don’t want to miss out on a new growth channel.—
Jason Del Rey,
Fortune,
25 June 2025
-
The album first cracked the top 10 on the Billboard 200 on the chart dated Aug. 31, 1985, and first reached No. 1 on the chart dated March 8, 1986.—
Paul Grein,
Billboard,
25 June 2025
Verb
-
The mission’s detailed investigation of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
23 June 2025
-
Agnes understands that the world is not about good and evil and virtue and sin.—
Rebecca Alter,
Vulture,
23 June 2025
Verb
-
Labor represents the primary expense driver, and wage increases translate directly into operational costs without the cushioning effect available to manufacturers.—
Kara Dennison,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2025
-
His game just translates better to the NBA as a 3-and-D guy.—
CJ Moore,
New York Times,
19 June 2025
Verb
-
The Trump administration said the strikes destroyed Iran's nuclear infrastructure, but the full extent of the damage is not known.—
Sonam Sheth
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 June 2025
-
The parliamentarian determined that a provision to bar immigrants who are not citizens or lawful permanent residents from receiving food assistance benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, should also be removed.—
Kaia Hubbard,
CBS News,
24 June 2025
Verb
-
He was later fired for misconduct stemming from the case and broke his silence in a series of interviews after Read's verdict was announced, after he was not invited to take the stand in her second trial.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
21 June 2025
-
The idea was that a group of military commandos would break quarantine and try to get to the place where the virus had originated, in order to find a cure.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
21 June 2025
Verb
-
Algorithmic Literacy encompasses comprehending how AI systems process information, make decisions and generate insights — not as programmers.—
Cornelia C. Walther,
Forbes.com,
17 June 2025
-
In his final days, which my young mind couldn’t fully comprehend, a fresh bottle sat by his hospital bed.—
Stixx Mathews,
Essence,
13 June 2025
Verb
-
While high-end IEMs provide the very best sound quality, they are limited by the tether of their cable and need an external DAC to decode the hi-res music source.—
Mark Sparrow,
Forbes.com,
24 June 2025
-
After taking a photo of the ice and converting it to grayscale, the researchers trained a computer to decode the message by detecting the position and size of bubbles based on their grayscale value (regions without bubbles are dark gray, while bubbles are almost white).—
Jack Knudson,
Discover Magazine,
20 June 2025
Verb
-
Their relations date back to Pakistan's founding amid the United Kingdom's partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947, with Iran being the second nation after the U.K. to recognize Pakistan's independence.—
Tom O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 June 2025
-
The two top performers were recognized as the Sun Sentinel’s Palm Beach water polo players of the year.—
Alex Kushel,
Sun Sentinel,
20 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Decipher.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decipher. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share