cryptic

Meanings

Plural: cryptics

Adjective Satellite

of an obscure nature; ; ; ; - Rachel Carson
- "the new insurance policy is written without cryptic or mysterious terms"
having a secret or hidden meaning; ; ; - John Gunther
- "cryptic writings"
having a puzzling terseness
- "a cryptic note"

Adj

Having hidden (unapparent) meaning.
Mystified or of an obscure nature; not easy to perceive.
Involving use of a code or cipher.
Of a crossword puzzle, or a clue in such a puzzle, using, in addition to definitions, wordplay such as anagrams, homophones and hidden words to indicate solutions.
Well camouflaged; having good camouflage.
Serving as camouflage.
Apparently identical, but actually genetically distinct.
Living in a cavity or small cave.

Noun

A cryptic crossword puzzle.

Origin / Etymology

From Late Latin crypticus, from Ancient Greek κρυπτικός (kruptikós), from κρυπτός (kruptós, “hidden”), from κρύπτω (krúptō, “to hide”). Doublet of kryptic.

Synonyms

cabalistic, cryptical, cryptozoic, deep, inscrutable, kabbalistic, mysterious, mystifying, qabalistic, sibylline

Scrabble Score: 16

cryptic is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
cryptic is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
cryptic is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 18

cryptic is a valid Words With Friends word