decipher — English Dictionary

Verb

1. To convert a code or cipher to plain text.

   Usage

   • Transitive

   Synonyms

   decodedecryptuncode

   Antonyms

   encipherencodeencrypt

2. To read text that is almost illegible or obscure.

   Usage

   • Transitive

3. To make sense of a complex situation.

   Usage

   • Transitive

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   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.

4. To find a solution to a problem.

   Usage

   • Transitive

   Synonyms

   resolveunriddlework out

Noun

1. A decipherment; a decoding.

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   I enclose a letter which I received yesterday evening from the Marques de Monsalud, containing the decipher of a letter from the King to the Comte d'Erlon. I wish that the Marques had sent the ciphered letter here […]

Verb

1. convert code into ordinary language

   Synonyms

   decodedecrypt

   Broader terms

   rewrite

2. read with difficulty

   Synonyms

   trace

   Broader terms

   read

   Examples

   Can you decipher this letter?

   The archeologist traced the hieroglyphs