From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Cryptic \Cryp"tic\ (kr[i^]p"t[i^]k), Cryptical \Cryp"tic*al\ (-t?-kal), adjective [L. crypticus, Gr. kryptiko's, fr. kry'ptein to hide.] Hidden; secret; occult. ''Her [nature's] more cryptic ways of working.'' --Glanvill.
2. incomprehensible to those not familiar with the culture or jargon; as, the new insurance policy is written without cryptic or mysterious terms.
Syn: inscrutable, mysterious, mystifying. [WordNet 1.5]
3. having a secret or hidden meaning; as, cryptic symbols engraved in stone; cryptic writings.
Syn: cabalistic, occult, secret, sibylline. [WordNet 1.5]
3. having a puzzling terseness; as, a cryptic note. [WordNet 1.5]
4. not evident; unrecognized; as, a cryptic infection. [PJC]
5. written in a code or cipher; as, a cryptic message.
Syn: encoded, enciphered, encrypted. [PJC]
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
adjective
1: of an obscure nature; "the new insurance policy is written without cryptic or mysterious terms"; "a deep dark secret"; "the inscrutible workings of Providence"; "in its mysterious past it encompasses all the dim origins of life"- Rachel Carson; "rituals totally mystifying to visitors from other lands" [syn: {cryptic}, {deep}, {inscrutable}, {mysterious}, {mystifying}]
2: having a secret or hidden meaning; "cabalistic symbols engraved in stone"; "cryptic writings"; "thoroughly sibylline in most of his pronouncements"- John Gunther [syn: {cabalistic}, {kabbalistic}, {qabalistic}, {cryptic}, {sibylline}]
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