decipher

verb

de·​ci·​pher dē-ˈsī-fər How to pronounce decipher (audio)
deciphered; deciphering; deciphers

transitive verb

1
: decode sense 1a
decipher a secret message
2
obsolete : depict
with her majesty's name deciphered in gold lettersJonathan Swift
3
a
: to make out the meaning of despite indistinctness or obscurity
trying to decipher her handwriting
b
: to interpret the meaning of
decipher the poem
decipherable adjective
decipherer noun
decipherment noun

Examples of decipher in a Sentence

I couldn't decipher his sloppy handwriting. we deciphered the hidden message to find out when we were supposed to meet
Recent Examples on the Web With an array of digital marketing channels at their disposal, CMOs must decipher complex datasets to personalize experiences, anticipate trends and optimize marketing strategies in real time. Jonathan Kaufman, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 Teachers asked students to look at a picture to help decipher words or think about the story plot. Jackie Valley, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Feb. 2024 Researchers crafted high-resolution CT scans of four scrolls, and the call-to-action required those involved to decipher four passages of at least 140 characters, with at least 85 percent of characters recoverable. Nicholas Rice, Peoplemag, 10 Feb. 2024 But archeologists have now been able to decipher some of the ancient text with the help of artificial intelligence. Claudio Lavanga, NBC News, 9 Feb. 2024 More than 2,000 characters — the first full passages — have been deciphered from a scroll, according to an announcement Monday by computer scientists who launched the Vesuvius Challenge, a competition designed to accelerate the discoveries made on the scrolls. Taylor Nicioli, CNN, 7 Feb. 2024 While they were protected with bcrypt, short or weak passwords could be fairly easy to decipher, and the service blocked people from setting longer passwords that would be harder to crack. Emma Roth, The Verge, 5 Feb. 2024 So behold an attempt to decipher the oldest political trees: the Eastside and the San Fernando Valley. Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2024 To decipher this data effectively, standardization and cleansing are imperative. Amit Verma, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'decipher.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1545, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of decipher was in 1545

Dictionary Entries Near decipher

Cite this Entry

“Decipher.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decipher. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

decipher

verb
de·​ci·​pher di-ˈsī-fər How to pronounce decipher (audio)
1
: to convert into understandable form
especially : decode
2
: to make out the meaning of despite lack of clearness
decipher sloppy handwriting
decipherable adjective
decipherment noun

More from Merriam-Webster on decipher

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