| Main Entry: | cryptic |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | secret; obscure in meaning |
Synonyms: |
Delphian, Delphic, abstruse, ambiguous, apocryphal, arcane, cabalistic, dark, enigmatic, equivocal, esoteric, evasive, hidden, incomprehensible, inexplicable, murky, mysterious, mystic, mystical, mystifying, occult, opaque, oracular, perplexing, puzzling, recondite, secretive, strange, tenebrous, unclear, unfathomable, uninformative, vague, veiled |
| Notes: | cryptic coloration helps conceal an animal; phaneric coloration makes an animal stand out |
Antonyms: |
clear, obvious, plain, seen, straightforward |
| Main Entry: | ambiguous |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | having more than one meaning |
Synonyms: |
clear as dishwater, cryptic, doubtful, dubious, enigmatic, enigmatical, equivocal, inconclusive, indefinite, indeterminate, inexplicit, muddy, multivocal, obscure, opaque, polysemous, puzzling, questionable, tenebrous, uncertain, unclear, unintelligible, vague |
| Notes: | ambiguous is vague by accident or intent; equivocal is vague by intent |
Antonyms: |
clear, definite, explicit, lucid |
| Main Entry: | complex |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | difficult to understand |
Synonyms: |
Byzantine, Daedalean, Gordian, abstruse, bewildering, circuitous, complicated, confused, convoluted, crabbed, cryptic, discursive, disordered, disturbing, enigmatic, entangled, excursive, hidden, impenetrable, inscrutable, interwoven, intricate, involved, jumbled, knotted, knotty, labyrinthine, mazy, meandering, mingled, mixed, muddled, obscure, paradoxical, perplexing, puzzling, rambling, recondite, round-about, sinuous, snarled, sophisticated, tangled, tortuous, undecipherable, unfathomable, winding |
Antonyms: |
apparent, clear, direct, discernible, easy, evident, obvious, plain |
| Main Entry: | dark |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | hidden, secret |
Synonyms: |
Delphian, abstruse, anagogic, arcane, cabalistic, complicated, concealed, cryptic, deep, enigmatic, esoteric, intricate, knotty, mysterious, mystic, mystical, mystifying, not known, obscure, occult, puzzling, recondite |
Antonyms: |
apparent, distinct, evident, manifest, plain, visible |
| Main Entry: | enigmatic/enigmatical |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | mysterious |
Synonyms: |
Delphian, Sibylline, ambiguous, cryptic, dark, doubtful, equivocal, incomprehensible, indecipherable, inexplicable, inscrutable, obscure, occult, oracular, perplexing, puzzling, recondite, secret, sphinxlike, stickling, stumping, teasing, uncertain, unfathomable, unintelligible |
Antonyms: |
clear, obvious, unmysterious |
| Main Entry: | esoteric |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | mysterious, obscure |
Synonyms: |
Delphic, Orphic, Sibylline, abstruse, acroamatic, arcane, cabalistic, cryptic, deep, heavy, hermetic, hidden, inner, inscrutable, mystic, mystical, occult, private, profound, recondite, secret |
Antonyms: |
common, familiar, known, obvious, public, unmysterious |
| Main Entry: | fine |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | discriminating, exact |
Synonyms: |
abstruse, acute, clear, critical, cryptic, delicate, distinct, enigmatic, esoteric, fastidious, fine-spun, hairline, hairsplitting, intelligent, keen, minute, nice, obscure, petty, precise, pure, quick, recondite, refined, sensitive, sharp, sterling, strict, subtle, tasteful, tenuous, trifling, unadulterated, unpolluted |
Antonyms: |
awkward, crude, uncouth, undiscriminating, unrefined |
| Main Entry: | hidden |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | unseen, secret |
Synonyms: |
QT, abstruse, buried, clandestine, cloaked, close, clouded, concealed, covered, covert, cryptic, dark, disguised, eclipsed, esoteric, hermetic, hermetical, imperceivable, in the dark, indiscernible, invisible, latent, masked, mysterious, mystic, mystical, obscure, occult, out of view, private, recondite, screened, secluded, sequestered, shadowy, shrouded, surreptitious, ulterior, undercover, underground, undetected, undisclosed, unexposed, unknown, unrevealed, veiled, withheld |
Antonyms: |
bare, exhibited, exposed, open, out, seen, showing, uncovered |
| Main Entry: | incomprehensible |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | not understandable |
Synonyms: |
Delphic, Greek, baffling, beats me, beyond comprehension, beyond one's grasp, clear as mud, cryptic, enigmatic, fathomless, impenetrable, incognizable, inconceivable, inscrutable, mysterious, mystifying, obscure, opaque, over one's head, perplexing, puzzling, sibylline, unclear, unfathomable, ungraspable, unimaginable, unintelligible, unknowable |
Antonyms: |
comprehensible, fathomable, intelligible, understandable |
| Main Entry: | mysterious |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | secret, concealed |
Synonyms: |
abstruse, alchemistic, arcane, astrological, baffling, cabalistic, covert, cryptic, curious, dark, difficult, enigmatic, enigmatical, equivocal, esoteric, furtive, hidden, impenetrable, incomprehensible, inexplicable, inscrutable, insoluble, magical, mystical, mystifying, necromantic, obscure, occult, oracular, perplexing, puzzling, recondite, secretive, sphinxlike, spiritual, strange, subjective, symbolic, transcendental, uncanny, unfathomable, unknowable, unknown, unnatural, veiled, weird |
Antonyms: |
apparent, known, obvious, plain, public, straightforward, tangible, unmysterious |