What does decipher mean?

Definitions for decipher
dɪˈsaɪ fərde·ci·pher

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word decipher.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. decode, decrypt, decipherverb

    convert code into ordinary language

  2. decipher, traceverb

    read with difficulty

    "Can you decipher this letter?"; "The archeologist traced the hieroglyphs"

Wiktionary

  1. decipherverb

    To decode or decrypt a code or cipher to plain text.

  2. decipherverb

    To read text that is almost illegible or obscure.

  3. decipherverb

    To find a solution to a problem.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. To DECIPHERverb

    Etymology: dechiffrer, French.

    Zelmane, that had the same character in her heart, could easily decipher it; and therefore, to keep him the longer in speech, desired to know the conclusion of the matter, and how the honest Dametas was escaped. Philip Sidney.

    Assurance is writ in a private character, not to be read, nor understood, but by the conscience, to which the spirit of God has vouchsafed to decipher it. Robert South, Sermons.

    Could I give you a lively representation of guilt and horrour on this hand, and paint out eternal wrath, and decipher eternal vengeance on the other, then might I shew you the condition of a sinner hearing himself denied by Christ. South.

    Then were laws of necessity invented, that so every particular subject might find his principal pleasure, deciphered unto him, in the tables of his laws. John Locke.

    You are both decipher’d
    For villains mark’d with rape. William Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus.

ChatGPT

  1. decipher

    Decipher means to decode or interpret a hidden, complex or obscure meaning or message. It often refers to converting text or information that is coded, encrypted or difficult to understand into an understandable format or language.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Decipherverb

    to translate from secret characters or ciphers into intelligible terms; as, to decipher a letter written in secret characters

  2. Decipherverb

    to find out, so as to be able to make known the meaning of; to make out or read, as words badly written or partly obliterated; to detect; to reveal; to unfold

  3. Decipherverb

    to stamp; to detect; to discover

  4. Etymology: [Pref. de- + cipher. Formed in imitation of F. dchiffrer. See Cipher.]

Wikidata

  1. Decipher

    Decipher is a speculative fiction novel by Stel Pavlou, published in 2001 in England by Simon and Schuster and 2002 in the United States by St. Martin's Press. It is published in many languages with some significant title changes. The Italian and Russian editions have the title Il codice di Atlantide, while the German edition is called Code Zero. The novel is about a fictional linguist, Richard Scott, and an assembled team of specialists who are in a race against time to crack a code found on ancient monuments around the world before an impending cataclysm predicted in mythology can strike. The story centers on the ancient city of Atlantis and features other mythical sites such as the Hall of Records. Decipher was longlisted in the UK for the W.H. Smith Best New Talent Award 2002.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Decipher

    de-sī′fėr, v.t. to uncipher or read secret writing: to make out what is unintelligible or obscure: to reveal.—adj. Deci′pherable.—n. Deci′pherment. [L. de, neg. and cipher.]

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of decipher in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of decipher in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of decipher in a Sentence

  1. Jonathan Lopez:

    To ask a bank to decipher between legitimate and illegitimate payments by a multinational organization who by its nature makes a lot of payments in different countries is going to be tough.

  2. Roger Kay:

    National Security Administration people that I've spoken to over the years have bemoaned the rising tide of difficult-to-decipher digital interchange, from voice, encrypted or not, at this point, the bad guys are outrunning the good because there are just too many channels to monitor.

  3. Fox News:

    A Killer by Design: Murders, Mindhunters, and My Quest to Decipher the Criminal.

  4. Jen Bucholtz:

    So you've got to know Gary's full name in order to decipher these anagrams, i just don't think there's any other way anybody would have figured it out.

  5. Greg Kondrak:

    That was surprising, and just saying ‘this is Hebrew’ is the first step. The next step is how do we decipher it.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

decipher#10000#31903#100000

Translations for decipher

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

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"decipher." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/decipher>.

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