1
as in mysterious
being beyond one's powers to know, understand, or explain
puzzled by the cryptic e-mail message left on his computer
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ambiguous
having an often intentionally veiled or uncertain meaning
the oracle offered only cryptic predictions that could be interpreted any number of different ways
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cryptic
Tell me more about the album’s title—is it supposed to be a little cryptic?
—
Liam Hess, Vogue, 21 Feb. 2025
Prologue was first announced in 2019 with a cryptic trailer that showed a first-person view of a storm crashing through a dark forest.
—Issy Van Der Velde, Rolling Stone, 20 Feb. 2025
The day after the birth of the baby was announced, the seven-time Super Bowl champion posted a cryptic message on his Instagram Story.
—Matt Robison, Newsweek, 18 Feb. 2025
Gaga recently updated her website to include a cryptic game, where users are encouraged to click and drag across a sea of floating letters to reveal short sentences, which fans believe to be lyrics off her forthcoming album.
—Stephen Daw, Billboard, 18 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cryptic
Liam Hess, Vogue, 21 Feb. 2025
Prologue was first announced in 2019 with a cryptic trailer that showed a first-person view of a storm crashing through a dark forest.
—Issy Van Der Velde, Rolling Stone, 20 Feb. 2025
The day after the birth of the baby was announced, the seven-time Super Bowl champion posted a cryptic message on his Instagram Story.
—Matt Robison, Newsweek, 18 Feb. 2025
Gaga recently updated her website to include a cryptic game, where users are encouraged to click and drag across a sea of floating letters to reveal short sentences, which fans believe to be lyrics off her forthcoming album.
—Stephen Daw, Billboard, 18 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cryptic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cryptic
Adjective
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The Scholars, out May 2 on Matador Records, features at least a dozen distinct characters, in settings that include a mysterious university and a clown school.—
Simon Vozick-Levinson,
Rolling Stone,
4 Mar. 2025
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Researchers in northern Denmark have unearthed evidence of a mysterious circle of wooden posts dating back 4,000 years.—
Sonja Anderson,
Smithsonian Magazine,
4 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Trump has not commented on the military base plan specifically but delivered an ambiguous answer this week to a question regarding the use of private companies to assist with deportations.—
David Catanese,
Miami Herald,
28 Feb. 2025
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The film has proven divisive, though, with some audiences puzzled by its breakneck tonal shifts and ambiguous ending.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The actor, who has built a career playing deliciously inscrutable villains, stars as Alfred Moretti, an enigmatic pop icon who, after decades out of the spotlight, re-emerges to announce the release of a new album.—
Jessica Wang,
EW.com,
12 Mar. 2025
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There’s a lot more mythology where that came from, including an enigmatic online game.—
Simon Vozick-Levinson,
Rolling Stone,
4 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Everything feels absurd and animated by obscure cosmic forces.—
Willing Davidson,
The New Yorker,
23 Feb. 2025
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After years in obscure so-so movies playing Chopin and Byron, and in some respectable Merchant Ivory ones, the surprise star of last year's Four Weddings and a Funeral and this year's Nine Months and The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain has lately been having a bad life.—
Candace Bushnell,
Vogue,
23 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The disruptions in flow call to mind the format of Be My Guest With Ina Garten, in which Ina both preps for a guest as well as cooks with them, but Meghan’s uncanny flashbacks somehow further untether the show from the reality of her not-kitchen.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
7 Mar. 2025
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Reality Blues wades into the mysteries of our uncanny world, trying to catch a vibe.—
Meaghan Garvey,
Pitchfork,
6 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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An adults-only drama about an exotic dancer's entanglements with a rich family (and its many secrets), Tyler Perry's Beauty in Black is dark, violent, and scandalous, with storylines revolving around murder, blackmail, and human trafficking.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
11 Mar. 2025
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Los Angeles and San Diego, which have missed out on more than 5 inches of typical rain since October, should see soaking rain after dark.—
Mary Gilbert,
CNN,
11 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Founded on the ethos of art as a form of mystic healing, the label reimagines the family heirloom—and invites its patrons to examine their relationship with objects.—
Nia Shumake,
Essence,
3 Feb. 2025
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Healy Lake members have long considered their dogs to be mystic companions, according to Combs.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
4 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Cryptic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cryptic. Accessed 15 Mar. 2025.
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