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cryptic

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cryptic¹

  • /ˈkɹɪptɪk/

Rhymes with -ɪptɪk

Where it comes from

From Late Latin crypticus, from Ancient Greek κρυπτικός (kruptikós), from κρυπτός (kruptós, “hidden”), from κρύπτω (krúptō, “to hide”). Doublet of kryptic.

adjective more cryptic · most cryptic · cryptick

  1. Having hidden (unapparent) meaning.
  2. Mystified or of an obscure nature; not easy to perceive. I think the Original of this conceit might be, That the Students of Nature, conſcious to her more cryptick wayes of working, reſolve many ſtrange effects into the nearer efficiency of ſecond cauſes[…]
  3. Involving use of a code or cipher.
  4. Of a crossword puzzle, or a clue in such a puzzle, using, in addition to definitions, wordplay such as anagrams, homophones and hidden words to indicate solutions.
  5. Well camouflaged; having good camouflage. Lonomia caterpillars are extremely cryptic.
  6. Serving as camouflage. cryptic colouring
  7. not comparable Apparently identical, but actually genetically distinct. cryptic species
  8. Living in a cavity or small cave. Much of the Permian Capitan reef was strongly differentiated into open surface and cryptic communities.

    Similar: cryptozoic

noun cryptics · cryptick

  1. informal A cryptic crossword puzzle. He settled down to the cryptic in the Independent. He loved his crossword. It kept him mentally active, just as gossip did his wife.

Cryptic²

proper noun the Cryptic

  1. An epoch from 4567 to 4150 million years ago, a subdivision of the Prenectarian.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: cryptical, mysterious, inscrutable, mystifying, incomprehensible, inexplicable, deep, esoteric, concise, cabalistic, sibylline, enigmatic, obscure, mystery, unclear, arcane

Translations

Every language

adj having hidden meaning

Españolcríptico
한국어숨은 뜻을 가진 sumeun tteuseul gajin
Portuguêscríptico
Françaiscryptique
Deutschkryptisch
Italianocriptico
Ελληνικάκρυπτικός kryptikós

adj mystified or of an obscure nature

Españolcríptico
한국어아리송한 arisonghan
Portuguêscríptico
Françaismystérieux, énigmatique
Deutschkryptisch
Ελληνικάκρυπτικός kryptikós
Русскийзагадочный zagadočnyj
العربيةمُبْهَم mubham

adj involving use of code or cipher

Españolcríptico
Portuguêscríptico
Deutschkryptisch
עבריתמוצפן

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Cite this
MLA

"cryptic." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/cryptic. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

cryptic. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/cryptic

Chicago

"cryptic." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/cryptic.

BibTeX
@misc{cryptic_2026,
  title = {cryptic},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/cryptic},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}