decypher
decypher is the alternative spelling of decipher.
Meaning of decipher
Verb
decipher (third-person singular simple present deciphers, present participle deciphering, simple past and past participle deciphered)
- To convert a code or cipher to plain text.
- To read text that is almost illegible or obscure.
- To make sense of a complex situation.
- Truly, we need human infirmity to teach us human nature, and that to Louis had been as a sealed book; he had only seen the coloured and gilded outside: too late he had to decipher the rough and gloomy page within.1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter II, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 13
- To find a solution to a problem.
- Synonyms:
- resolve, unriddle, work out, absolve, get to the bottom of, iron out, meliorate, puzzle out, ravel, reason out
Forms of decypher
| Verb | |
|---|---|
| third-person singular present | decyphers |
| present participle | decyphering |
| past participle | decyphered |
| past | decyphered |
| Noun | |
| plural | decyphers |
Origin of decypher
As decipher, but retaining the y from the Old French etyma of cipher (cyfre, cyffre); the i spelling tends to be preferred etymologically, being consistent with its cognates, the French déchiffrer and the Italian decifrare, and with their common ancestor, the Medieval Latin cifra, cifera, ciphra. By surface analysis, de- + cypher.
Words formed from decypher
Questions about decypher
- What is decypher the alternative spelling of?
- Decypher is the alternative spelling of decipher.
Words near decypher in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: decypher (page history and authors); decipher (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “decypher.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/decypher. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.