Sekirov Dictionary

cryptic

/ˈkɹɪptɪk/

adjective 8
noun 1
forms 3

adjective8

Having hidden (unapparent) meaning.
•
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[…] — 1665
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.
- Lonomia caterpillars are extremely cryptic.
Serving as camouflage.
Involving use of a code or cipher.
Apparently identical, but actually genetically distinct.
•
Living in a cavity or small cave.
- Much of the Permian Capitan reef was strongly differentiated into open surface and cryptic communities. — 1999

noun1

•
(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. — 1996

forms

cryptics · more cryptic · most cryptic

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