decipher

verb

de·​ci·​pher dē-ˈsī-fər 

deciphered; deciphering; deciphers

transitive verb

1

: decode sense 1a

decipher a secret message

2

obsolete : depict

… with her majesty's name deciphered in gold letters …

—Jonathan Swift

3

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

decipherable

dē-ˈsī-f(ə-)rə-bəl 

adjective

decipherer

dē-ˈsī-fər-ər 

noun

decipherment

dē-ˈsī-fər-mənt 

noun

Synonyms of decipher

• crack
• translate
• break
• decode
• solve
• decrypt

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

Bahdanau was working with artificial neural networks, which had already shown promise in pattern-recognition tasks such as deciphering handwriting and identifying objects in photos. — Quanta Magazine, 12 Oct. 2026

In addition to developing better medicines or perfumes, deciphering the mirror images of molecules can help scientists understand the chemical architecture of life, said chemist Holden Thorp, editor-in-chief of the journal Science. — Arkansas Online, 8 Oct. 2026

In addition to developing better medicines or fragrances, deciphering the mirror images of molecules can help scientists understand the chemical architecture of life, said chemist Holden Thorp, editor in chief of the journal Science. — Adithi Ramakrishnan, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026

The hot mic saw to it that Rodgers' message to McCarthy was loud and clear and any amateur lip reader could also clearly decipher the head coach's response to his quarterback who spent 13 seasons with him in Green Bay. — ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1545, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for decipher

• cipher
• cypher
• fifer
• heifer
• pfeiffer

Kids 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

decipherable

-f(ə-)rə-bəl 

adjective

decipherment

-fər-mənt 

noun