decipher
verb
de·ci·pher
dē-ˈsī-fər 
deciphered; deciphering; deciphers
1
: decode sense 1a
decipher a secret message
2
obsolete
: depict
with her majesty's name deciphered in gold letters—
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift3
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
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
One work after another is deciphered as an allegory of the artist’s tribulations under the regime.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2024
Make your plan easy to understand and calculate so reps can focus on cooking up sales, not deciphering complex formulas.
—Anjai Lal, Forbes, 20 Nov. 2024
Experts caution that foreign governments could use this data to identify individuals with access to sensitive areas; terrorists or criminals could decipher when US nuclear weapons are least guarded; or spies and other nefarious actors could leverage embarrassing information for blackmail.
—Dhruv Mehrotra, WIRED, 19 Nov. 2024
Unlike cuneiform, only about half of proto cuneiform symbols have been deciphered so far.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 6 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for decipher 
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Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2024
Make your plan easy to understand and calculate so reps can focus on cooking up sales, not deciphering complex formulas.
—Anjai Lal, Forbes, 20 Nov. 2024
Experts caution that foreign governments could use this data to identify individuals with access to sensitive areas; terrorists or criminals could decipher when US nuclear weapons are least guarded; or spies and other nefarious actors could leverage embarrassing information for blackmail.
—Dhruv Mehrotra, WIRED, 19 Nov. 2024
Unlike cuneiform, only about half of proto cuneiform symbols have been deciphered so far.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 6 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for decipher
Dictionary Entries Near decipher
Cite this Entry
“Decipher.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decipher. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
decipher
verb
de·ci·pher
di-ˈsī-fər
1
: to convert into understandable form
especially
: decode
2
: to make out the meaning of despite lack of clearness
decipher sloppy handwriting
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