HOW TO PRONOUNCE
cryptic
/ˈkɹɪptɪk/
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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:47
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What does cryptic mean?
adjective
- Having hidden (unapparent) meaning.
- Mystified or of an obscure nature; not easy to perceive.
- Involving use of a code or cipher.
More meanings (7)
adjective
- 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.
- Well camouflaged; having good camouflage.
- Serving as camouflage.
- Apparently identical, but actually genetically distinct.
- Living in a cavity or small cave.
noun
- (informal) A cryptic crossword puzzle.
proper noun
- An epoch from 4567 to 4150 million years ago, a subdivision of the Prenectarian.
Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0
IPA pronunciation
/ˈkɹɪptɪk/
CMU Pronouncing Dictionary ↗Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.
In the pages of books
See this word in context.
For the first time she fully understood the cryptic explanation that Mrs. Tellamantez had made to Dr. Archie, long ago.
With which cryptic utterance she went joyfully on her way and Anne flew to the kitchen door to meet Marilla.
More book examples (3)
Behind every smiling mask is there not some cryptic grimace of pain?
Both their faces were tragic, but also cryptic.
It is also shown that Darwin contemplated the possibility of cryptic colours such as those of Patagonian animals being due to sexual selection influenced by the aspect of surrounding nature.