variants
or elliptic
1
as in cryptic
having an often intentionally veiled or uncertain meaning
the poet's elliptical style is such that the reader often senses that an allusion is being made—but to what exactly?
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
3
as in concise
marked by the use of few words to convey much information or meaning
his elliptical replies can seem rude to some people, but that's just his way
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of elliptical
Planned to be the first of three crewed missions to the moon, Artemis 2 will test Orion’s life support systems with four astronauts aboard.
After launching from pad 39B at KSC, Orion will orbit Earth twice before moving into a highly elliptical orbit.
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Jamie Carter, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
In a post on X, Dylan offered a surprisingly positive but typically elliptical assessment.
—Tom Tapp, Deadline, 4 Dec. 2024
There is an oasis in the middle of said desert populated by a community whose residents seem condemned to speak in strange, elliptical phrases.
—Lewis Gordon, The Verge, 7 Oct. 2024
Near the Arctic Circle, places like northern Alaska or Norway experience a phenomenon called the Midnight Sun, where the Sun does not set at all and simply makes an elliptical path around the sky without ever dipping below the horizon.
—New Atlas, 7 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for elliptical 
Jamie Carter, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
In a post on X, Dylan offered a surprisingly positive but typically elliptical assessment.
—Tom Tapp, Deadline, 4 Dec. 2024
There is an oasis in the middle of said desert populated by a community whose residents seem condemned to speak in strange, elliptical phrases.
—Lewis Gordon, The Verge, 7 Oct. 2024
Near the Arctic Circle, places like northern Alaska or Norway experience a phenomenon called the Midnight Sun, where the Sun does not set at all and simply makes an elliptical path around the sky without ever dipping below the horizon.
—New Atlas, 7 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for elliptical
Recent Examples of Synonyms for elliptical
Adjective
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Fans and friends alike can’t get enough of the abstract albeit cryptic cover art.Mya Abraham, VIBE.com, 19 Dec. 2024
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Read: Pets really can be like human family Wearables could be especially helpful for cats, who are notoriously cryptic and tend to hide pain until a condition has significantly progressed.Kristen V. Brown, The Atlantic, 16 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The Kohler Sunstruck oval tub is standard in the primary bathroom if this layout is chosen.Benjamin C Tankersley, Washington Post, 1 Feb. 2023
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This simple opener works well on circular cans but may not be effective on dented, square, or oval cans.Maya Polton, Better Homes & Gardens, 31 Jan. 2023
Adjective
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General Tso’s chicken wings, kung pao chicken and of course, Peking duck (during soft-opening until 2025, $45 for half, $88 whole), highlight the concise menu.Florence Fabricant, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2024
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Set a regular publishing schedule and ensure each episode is concise and well-structured, balancing informative content with engaging storytelling.Fatima Zaidi, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The movie is ambiguous about why Dylan offers to drive Rotolo to the festival on his motorcycle and then leaves her to tearfully witness his chemistry with Baez — whether there is lingering romantic interest there.Chris Willman, Variety, 26 Dec. 2024
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Out of the box, human language is ambiguous and nuanced with idioms, sarcasm or cultural references, challenging LLMs to interpret correctly.Son Nguyen, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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For a brief moment in the early '60s, when Cher was first introduced to the world, her look was fairly conventional.Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 25 Dec. 2024
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Well, in the first period Monday, Shore made a strong move to the net that ended with Faber giving the Wild a brief 1-0 lead.Michael Russo, The Athletic, 24 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The first season covered the novel's first half, in which Louis shares, in flashbacks, what happened between him and the enigmatic vampire Lestat (Sam Reid) with journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian).Ars Technica, Ars Technica, 24 Dec. 2024
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Jung-bae barely registers in season one, however, as an increasingly desperate Gi-hun takes an enigmatic salesman (Gong Yoo) up on an offer to earn real money playing in the Squid Game, leaving his world behind.Josh Wigler, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Following 2021’s curt, arresting When Smoke Rises, this year’s heftier Dunya tugs at the decade’s most disheartening threads.Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 3 Dec. 2024
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But the crime scene is swiftly wiped clean, her body removed to avert suspicion and her phone sending curt messages about returning to Los Angeles for a job.Devon Ivie, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2024
Adjective
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An autopsy revealed the father had been stabbed approximately 50 times and had sustained multiple injuries, including broken bones, strangulation marks, and blunt force trauma to the head, face, and back.Gord Magill, Newsweek, 22 Dec. 2024
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Federov is a woodcutter with a blunt axe, unable to keep up with his competitors who use saws.Sheila Regan, Twin Cities, 21 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near elliptical
Cite this Entry
“Elliptical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/elliptical. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.
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