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
Once upon a planet Scholars have deciphered some of the first words from a Herculaneum scroll burned and buried in AD 79 during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 8 Feb. 2025
Furthermore, the pole-to-pole probe will collect measurements at multiple times of day over sunlit regions, helping researchers decipher whether water signatures on the illuminated surface change as the lunar surface temperature changes by hundreds of degrees over the course of a lunar day.
—Leonard David, Space.com, 4 Feb. 2025
An Indian state leader is offering $1 million to anyone who can decipher an ancient script from the Indus Valley Bronze Age civilization.
—The Editors Of Artnews, ARTnews.com, 3 Feb. 2025
Cotton and a team of experts spent the next decade deciphering the 133-line text, and their findings were recently published in the journal Tyche.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for decipher 
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Ashley Strickland, CNN, 8 Feb. 2025
Furthermore, the pole-to-pole probe will collect measurements at multiple times of day over sunlit regions, helping researchers decipher whether water signatures on the illuminated surface change as the lunar surface temperature changes by hundreds of degrees over the course of a lunar day.
—Leonard David, Space.com, 4 Feb. 2025
An Indian state leader is offering $1 million to anyone who can decipher an ancient script from the Indus Valley Bronze Age civilization.
—The Editors Of Artnews, ARTnews.com, 3 Feb. 2025
Cotton and a team of experts spent the next decade deciphering the 133-line text, and their findings were recently published in the journal Tyche.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Jan. 2025
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 16 Feb. 2025.
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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