The meaning of Cryptic

adjective

Difficult to understand; obscure.

Usage examples:

An abstruse philosophical inquiry

adjective

Not known or understood by many people

Usage examples:

An abstruse philosophical essay

adjective

Open to more than one interpretation; not having one obvious meaning.

Usage examples:

Ambiguous phrases

adjective

Understood by few; mysterious or secret.

Usage examples:

Arcane procedures for electing people

adjective

Bewildering or perplexing.

Usage examples:

Up on the sidewalks, new york was a confusing bedlam of sights and sounds

verb

Make (someone) bewildered or perplexed.

Usage examples:

Past and present blurred together, confusing her still further

adjective

Something that is confusing makes you feel confused because it is difficult to understand

Usage examples:

We have two people called paul james working here, so it's a bit confusing!, the instructions are r…

adjective

Relating to the ancient greek sanctuary (= holy place) at delphi, or the oracle (= female priest) who gave advice there

Usage examples:

Croesus, king of lydia, asked the delphic oracle if he should attack persia., a delphic pronounceme…

adjective

(of speech or writing) using or involving ellipsis, especially so as to be difficult to understand.

Usage examples:

Elliptical colloquial exchanges

adjective

Shaped like an ellipse

adjective

Difficult to interpret or understand; mysterious.

Usage examples:

He took the money with an enigmatic smile

adjective

Mysterious and impossible to understand completely

Usage examples:

The mona lisa has a famously enigmatic smile., he left an enigmatic message on my answering machine.

adjective

Difficult or impossible to understand, explain, or identify.

Usage examples:

His colleague had vanished in mysterious circumstances

adjective

Strange, not known, or not understood

Usage examples:

She's an actress whose inner life has remained mysterious, despite the many interviews she has give…

adjective

Utterly bewildering or perplexing.

Usage examples:

A mystifying phenomenon

verb

Utterly bewilder or perplex (someone).

Usage examples:

I was completely mystified by his disappearance

adjective

Very strange or impossible to explain

Usage examples:

After ten years her mystifying disappearance was still unexplained., the film tells the strange and…

adjective

Neither parallel nor at right angles to a specified or implied line; slanting.

Usage examples:

We sat on the settee oblique to the fireplace

noun

Another term for slash1 (sense 2 of the noun).

adjective

Not discovered or known about; uncertain.

Usage examples:

His origins and parentage are obscure

verb

Keep from being seen; conceal.

Usage examples:

Grey clouds obscure the sun

adjective

Not known to many people

Usage examples:

An obscure 18th-century painter, official policy has changed for reasons that remain obscure.

adjective

Relating to an oracle.

Usage examples:

The oracular shrine

adjective

Mysterious and difficult to understand, but probably wise

Usage examples:

An oracular statement

adjective

Completely baffling; very puzzling.

Usage examples:

A perplexing problem

verb

Make (someone) feel completely baffled.

Usage examples:

She was perplexed by her husband's moodiness

adjective

Confusing, often because you do not know how to solve something

Usage examples:

They find the company's attitude perplexing and unreasonable., the rise in childhood mental illness…

adjective

Causing one to be puzzled; perplexing.

Usage examples:

Only one very puzzling question remains unanswered

verb

Cause (someone) to feel confused because they cannot understand something.

Usage examples:

She was puzzled by the doctor's manner

adjective

Difficult to explain or understand

Usage examples:

It's a rather puzzling film., a puzzling situation