cryptic

• POS: Adjective
• HYPHEN: cryp=tic

CIDE DICTIONARY

cryptic, a. [L. crypticus, Gr. kryptiko`s, fr. kry`ptein to hide.].

•  Hidden; secret; occult.  Glanvill.  [1913 Webster]
•  incomprehensible to those not familiar with the culture or jargon; as, the new insurance policy is written without cryptic or mysterious terms.  [WordNet 1.5]
•  having a secret or hidden meaning; as, cryptic symbols engraved in stone; cryptic writings.  [WordNet 1.5]
•  having a puzzling terseness; as, a cryptic note.  [WordNet 1.5]
•  not evident; unrecognized; as, a cryptic infection.  [PJC]
•  written in a code or cipher; as, a cryptic message.  [PJC]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

cryptic, adj.
1 a obscure in meaning. b (of a crossword clue etc.) indirect; indicating the solution in a way that is not obvious. c secret, mysterious, enigmatic.
2 Zool. (of coloration etc.) serving for concealment.

Derivative

cryptically adv.

Etymology

LL crypticus f. Gk kruptikos (as CRYPTO-)

THESAURUS

cryptic

abstruse, arcane, between the lines, cabalistic, cabbalistic, censored, classified, close, closed, concealed, covert, dark, delitescent, dormant, enigmatic, equivocal, esoteric, evasive, hermetic, hibernating, hidden, hush-hush, incomprehensible, inexplicable, inscrutable, latent, lurking, muffled, murky, mysterious, mystic, mystical, mystifying, nebulous, obfuscated, obscure, obscured, occult, opaque, perplexing, possible, potential, puzzling, recondite, restricted, riddling, secret, secretive, sleeping, smothered, sphinxlike, stifled, strange, submerged, suppressed, tenebrous, top secret, ulterior, unbreatheable, unclear, under security, under the surface, under wraps, underlying, undisclosable, undisclosed, undivulgable, undivulged, unfathomable, uninformative, unmanifested, unrevealable, unrevealed, unspoken, untellable, untold, unutterable, unuttered, unwhisperable, vague, veiled, virtual

ROGET THESAURUS

cryptic

Concealment

N concealment, hiding, occultation, mystification, seal of secrecy, screen, disguise, masquerade, masked battery, hiding place, cryptography, steganography, freemasonry, stealth, stealthiness, sneakiness, obreption, slyness, latitancy, latitation, seclusion, privacy, secrecy, secretness, incognita, reticence, reserve, mental reserve, reservation, arriere pensee, suppression, evasion, white lie, misprision, silence, suppression of truth, underhand dealing, closeness, secretiveness, mystery, latency, snake in the grass, secret, stowaway, concealed, hidden, secret, recondite, mystic, cabalistic, occult, dark, cryptic, cryptical, private, privy, in petto, auricular, clandestine, close, inviolate, tortuous, behind a screen, undercover, under an eclipse, in ambush, in hiding, in disguise, in a cloud, in a fog, in a mist, in a haze, in a dark corner, in the shade, in the dark, clouded, wrapped in clouds, wrapt in clouds, invisible, buried, underground, perdu, secluded, undisclosed &c, untold, covert, untraceable, mysterious, irrevealable, inviolable, confidential, esoteric, not to be spoken of, unmentionable, obreptitious, furtive, stealthy, feline, skulking, surreptitious, underhand, hole and corner, sly, secretive, evasive, reserved, reticent, uncommunicative, buttoned up, close, close as wax, taciturn, secretly, in secret, in private, in one's sleeve, in holes and corners, in the dark, januis clausis, with closed doors, a huis clos, hugger mugger, a la derobee, under the cloak of, under the rose, under the table, sub rosa, en tapinois, in the background, aside, on the sly, with bated breath, sotto voce, in a whisper, without beat of drum, a la sourdine, behind the veil, beyond mortal ken, beyond the grave, beyond the veil, hid from mortal vision, into the eternal secret, into the realms supersensible, into the supreme mystery, in confidence, in strict confidence, in strictest confidence, confidentially, between ourselves, between you and me, between you and me and the bedpost, entre nous, inter nos, under the seal of secrecy, a couvert, underhand, by stealth, like a thief in the night, stealthily, behind the scenes, behind the curtain, behind one's back, behind a screen, incognito, in camera, it must go no further, it will go no further, don't tell a soul, tell it not in Gath, nobody the wiser, alitur vitium vivitque tegendo, let it be tenable in your silence still, background information, deep background information, deep background, background session, backgrounder, not for attribution.