Cryptic
adjective
Something that is hard to understand or has hidden meanings.
His comments were cryptic and left everyone confused.
adjective
Used to describe a type of crossword puzzle in which the answers are suggested indirectly rather than directly.
I've always found cryptic crosswords too challenging.
adjective
In biology, describes a species or organism that is difficult to detect or distinguish due to visual similarity or hidden behavior.
Cryptic species are a serious challenge to biodiversity conservation.
Usage tips
Academic
adjective
Something that is hard to understand or has hidden meanings.
His comments were cryptic and left everyone confused.
adjective
Used to describe a type of crossword puzzle in which the answers are suggested indirectly rather than directly.
I've always found cryptic crosswords too challenging.
adjective
In biology, describes a species or organism that is difficult to detect or distinguish due to visual similarity or hidden behavior.
Cryptic species are a serious challenge to biodiversity conservation.
Usage tips
Academic
Definition 1 of 3
Pro Tip 1/3Hidden Meanings
Remember, 'cryptic' often implies that the meaning is intentionally obscured.
Her cryptic smile made me wonder what she was thinking.
Pro Tip 2/3Not Obvious
'Cryptic' suggests that you need to think deeper to understand the real message.
He left a cryptic note that only hinted at where he was going.
Pro Tip 3/3Suggests Mystery
When something is described as 'cryptic', it creates a sense of mystery or intrigue.
The ancient artifact bore cryptic inscriptions no one could decipher.
Pro Tip 1/3Hidden Meanings
Remember, 'cryptic' often implies that the meaning is intentionally obscured.
Her cryptic smile made me wonder what she was thinking.
Pro Tip 2/3Not Obvious
'Cryptic' suggests that you need to think deeper to understand the real message.
He left a cryptic note that only hinted at where he was going.
Pro Tip 3/3Suggests Mystery
When something is described as 'cryptic', it creates a sense of mystery or intrigue.
The ancient artifact bore cryptic inscriptions no one could decipher.
Pro Tip 1/3Hidden Meanings
Remember, 'cryptic' often implies that the meaning is intentionally obscured.
Her cryptic smile made me wonder what she was thinking.
Pro Tip 2/3Not Obvious
'Cryptic' suggests that you need to think deeper to understand the real message.
He left a cryptic note that only hinted at where he was going.
Pro Tip 3/3Suggests Mystery
When something is described as 'cryptic', it creates a sense of mystery or intrigue.
The ancient artifact bore cryptic inscriptions no one could decipher.
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Video examples
Safari Live - Day 166 PIPE...
it's more incessant than them and you can completely affect their life so it's very important to be ethical when it comes to playing calls play it once see if there's a response leave it if you're walking looking for a special or sort of cryptic colored or hidden bird never more than once every hundred meters or
Video examples
The Falcon's Feather -...
mysterious events surrounding twelve-year-old cruise Coronado's first months at school finally at see the young explorers get to immerse themselves in real expeditions cool classes and amazing technology and with the help of his friends crews secretly works to uncover a cryptic message his mother left behind
Video examples
Penelope Boston: Life on...
How do you try to get a handle on extraterrestrial life? How do you plan to look for it? How do you know it when you find it? Because if it's big and obvious, we would've already found it -- it would've already bitten us on the foot, and it hasn't. So, we know that it's probably quite cryptic.
Video examples
Steve Backshall on a...
something that you would never ever spot unless you are really really looking for it it's called a blue ringed octopus now they are much much smaller than you would imagine even a fully grown adult blue ringed octopus is smaller than a ping pong ball and they have remarkable cryptic that is
Video examples
A shark-deterrent...
And this one's particularly well-suited to the dive configuration, so when you're deeper under the water. So we knew that we had some really solid science here. We knew, if you wanted to stand out, you needed to look stripy, and we knew if you wanted to be cryptic,
Video examples
The myth of Narcissus...
It was Narcissus, the stunningly beautiful son of a river god and water nymph. After his birth, a seer had given his mother a cryptic Narcissus would live a long life— but only if he never really knew himself. No one was sure exactly what to make of this.
Video examples
Can you solve the...
infiltrate the sixth floor from the top, find the hidden panel, pull some conspicuous levers, and send the death ray crashing into the ocean. Now, time to solve the mystery of why your surveillance team always gives you cryptic information. Hi everybody.
Video examples
Can you solve the...
If you were to ask a troll supporter who she'll vote for, there’s a good chance that she’ll claim to support the treeman, skewing your results. You’re about to begin your rounds when a stranger offers you some cryptic
Video examples
Why should you read...
Such cryptic dialogue and circular reasoning are key features of the Theatre of the Absurd, a movement which emerged after the Second World War and found artists struggling to find meaning in devastation.
Video examples
The myth of the stolen...
the shaman knew they were juri, or air goblins, who could fly and control the winds. They taught him how to weave. Before the shaman left, the goblin chief whispered some cryptic instructions in his ear.
Video examples
Safari Live - Day 166 PIPE...
it's more incessant than them and you can completely affect their life so it's very important to be ethical when it comes to playing calls play it once see if there's a response leave it if you're walking looking for a special or sort of cryptic colored or hidden bird never more than once every hundred meters or
Video examples
The Falcon's Feather -...
mysterious events surrounding twelve-year-old cruise Coronado's first months at school finally at see the young explorers get to immerse themselves in real expeditions cool classes and amazing technology and with the help of his friends crews secretly works to uncover a cryptic message his mother left behind
Video examples
Penelope Boston: Life on...
How do you try to get a handle on extraterrestrial life? How do you plan to look for it? How do you know it when you find it? Because if it's big and obvious, we would've already found it -- it would've already bitten us on the foot, and it hasn't. So, we know that it's probably quite cryptic.
Video examples
Steve Backshall on a...
something that you would never ever spot unless you are really really looking for it it's called a blue ringed octopus now they are much much smaller than you would imagine even a fully grown adult blue ringed octopus is smaller than a ping pong ball and they have remarkable cryptic that is
Video examples
A shark-deterrent...
And this one's particularly well-suited to the dive configuration, so when you're deeper under the water. So we knew that we had some really solid science here. We knew, if you wanted to stand out, you needed to look stripy, and we knew if you wanted to be cryptic,
Video examples
The myth of Narcissus...
It was Narcissus, the stunningly beautiful son of a river god and water nymph. After his birth, a seer had given his mother a cryptic Narcissus would live a long life— but only if he never really knew himself. No one was sure exactly what to make of this.
Video examples
Can you solve the...
infiltrate the sixth floor from the top, find the hidden panel, pull some conspicuous levers, and send the death ray crashing into the ocean. Now, time to solve the mystery of why your surveillance team always gives you cryptic information. Hi everybody.
Video examples
Can you solve the...
If you were to ask a troll supporter who she'll vote for, there’s a good chance that she’ll claim to support the treeman, skewing your results. You’re about to begin your rounds when a stranger offers you some cryptic
Video examples
Why should you read...
Such cryptic dialogue and circular reasoning are key features of the Theatre of the Absurd, a movement which emerged after the Second World War and found artists struggling to find meaning in devastation.
Video examples
The myth of the stolen...
the shaman knew they were juri, or air goblins, who could fly and control the winds. They taught him how to weave. Before the shaman left, the goblin chief whispered some cryptic instructions in his ear.
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Olivia De Havilland
American Actress
I would prefer to live forever in perfect health, but if I must at some time leave this life, I would like to do so ensconced on a chaise longue, perfumed, wearing a velvet robe and pearl earrings, with a flute of champagne beside me and having just discovered the answer to the last problem in a British cryptic crossword.
Quote examples
Peter Molyneux
English Designer
I remembered a long time ago, Kit Williams hid a golden hare somewhere in Britain and wrote a book which was layered with clues about where the it was. This really fired my imagination, I read the book and it was way too cryptic for me to understand, but it seemed to fascinated people - it even got on the news.
Quote examples
Andy Muschietti
Argentinian Director
Everything that relates to Pennywise and Bob Gray is very cryptic, and it's like that for a reason. Probably the success of that character as a monster, as a villain is because of that crypticness and uncertainty that people have towards him.
Quote examples
Lin Shaye
American Actress
I've had a couple of odd experiences - unexplainable anxiety that came my way through a belief in something... I mean, it sounds cryptic, but... anything for me that turns myself against myself, I stay away from.
Quote examples
Seth Shostak
American Scientist
The planets and moons of our solar system are blatantly visible because they reflect sunlight. Without the nearby Sun, these planets would be cryptic and dark on the sky.
Quote examples
Dinaw Mengestu
Ethiopian Novelist
The Duino Elegies' are notoriously cryptic, and part of the reason why I have always loved them is because they invite multiple readings over the course of a lifetime.
Quote examples
Chet Faker
Australian Musician
Music to me is about being honest, and it's what I've always pictured music as. I don't see the point of expressing yourself if you are going to be cryptic about it.
Quote examples
Anthony Fantano
American Celebrity
Cryptic messages and abstract statements are littered throughout the music of Happy Birthday, but it hasn't made the band's sun-baked pop-rock any less infectious.
Quote examples
Frank Black
American Musician
My most cryptic, strange songs might be my most personal, but that isn't how people are going to receive them, because they don't know the code.
Quote examples
Jamie Hince
English Musician
Privacy has become the most precious thing. Things have got more cryptic in my writing.
Quote examples
Olivia De Havilland
American Actress
I would prefer to live forever in perfect health, but if I must at some time leave this life, I would like to do so ensconced on a chaise longue, perfumed, wearing a velvet robe and pearl earrings, with a flute of champagne beside me and having just discovered the answer to the last problem in a British cryptic crossword.
Quote examples
Peter Molyneux
English Designer
I remembered a long time ago, Kit Williams hid a golden hare somewhere in Britain and wrote a book which was layered with clues about where the it was. This really fired my imagination, I read the book and it was way too cryptic for me to understand, but it seemed to fascinated people - it even got on the news.
Quote examples
Andy Muschietti
Argentinian Director
Everything that relates to Pennywise and Bob Gray is very cryptic, and it's like that for a reason. Probably the success of that character as a monster, as a villain is because of that crypticness and uncertainty that people have towards him.
Quote examples
Lin Shaye
American Actress
I've had a couple of odd experiences - unexplainable anxiety that came my way through a belief in something... I mean, it sounds cryptic, but... anything for me that turns myself against myself, I stay away from.
Quote examples
Seth Shostak
American Scientist
The planets and moons of our solar system are blatantly visible because they reflect sunlight. Without the nearby Sun, these planets would be cryptic and dark on the sky.
Quote examples
Dinaw Mengestu
Ethiopian Novelist
The Duino Elegies' are notoriously cryptic, and part of the reason why I have always loved them is because they invite multiple readings over the course of a lifetime.
Quote examples
Chet Faker
Australian Musician
Music to me is about being honest, and it's what I've always pictured music as. I don't see the point of expressing yourself if you are going to be cryptic about it.
Quote examples
Anthony Fantano
American Celebrity
Cryptic messages and abstract statements are littered throughout the music of Happy Birthday, but it hasn't made the band's sun-baked pop-rock any less infectious.
Quote examples
Frank Black
American Musician
My most cryptic, strange songs might be my most personal, but that isn't how people are going to receive them, because they don't know the code.
Quote examples
Jamie Hince
English Musician
Privacy has become the most precious thing. Things have got more cryptic in my writing.
Example 1 of 10
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