What does deciphering mean?
Deciphering is the process of making sense of what is otherwise unreadable or unintelligible: converting a coded message into plain language, transcribing faded or unfamiliar script, or untangling any puzzle of meaning. The word carries connotations of patient intellectual effort and often of breakthrough — a hidden message recovered, an ancient civilization's records brought back to light. It is used both literally, as in deciphering encrypted communications or medieval manuscripts, and figuratively, as in deciphering someone's handwriting, a cryptic note, or even another person's motives. The term belongs to the vocabulary of cryptography, archaeology, and philology, but it is equally at home in ordinary conversation. Its enduring appeal lies in the drama it implies: something obscured by design, damage, or difficulty, and a determined mind determined to recover it.
Present participle of decipher: to convert a coded, obscure, or illegible text into readable form; to work out the meaning of something puzzling.
"They spent months deciphering the intercepted messages."
Also used figuratively for interpreting anything unclear.
The act or process of deciphering; the interpretation of coded, obscure, or difficult material.
"The deciphering of Linear B was a landmark in the study of ancient Greece."
Every time you say 'decipher', you're echoing the Arabic word for 'empty' — because 'cipher' originally meant zero before it meant code.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of deciphering
Deciphering derives from 'decipher', formed in the late sixteenth century from the prefix de- plus 'cipher', meaning to strip away a cipher or code. 'Cipher' itself entered English from Old French cifre, ultimately from Arabic sifr ('zero, empty'), which also gave English the word 'zero' — reflecting how the concept of a symbol for nothing became associated with secret systems of notation. The gerund form has been in continuous use since early modern English.
Related word forms
How deciphering is actually used
Neutral to slightly formal register; common in academic writing on linguistics and cryptography as well as everyday complaints about bad handwriting.
Easily confused with deciphering
'Deciphering' is the ongoing act of working something out, while 'decipherment' is the completed achievement or field of study (as in 'the decipherment of Linear B').