Cryptic vs Definite - What's the difference?
cryptic | definite |
Having hidden meaning.
Mystified or of an obscure nature.
* Glanvill
Involving use of code or cipher/cypher.
(zoology) Well camouflaged; having good camouflage.
(informal) A cryptic crossword.
* 1996 , Mary McCarthy, Remember Me (page 85)
* 2009 , Bill Taylor, Building a crossword'' (in ''Toronto Star , 1 February 2009)
Having distinct limits.
* Whewell
Free from any doubt.
Determined; resolved.
(linguistics) Designating an identified or immediately identifiable person or thing.
As adjectives the difference between cryptic and definite
is that cryptic is having hidden meaning while definite is having distinct limits.As nouns the difference between cryptic and definite
is that cryptic is a cryptic crossword while definite is anything that is defined or determined.cryptic
English
(wikipedia cryptic)Alternative forms
* cryptick (obsolete)Adjective
(en adjective)- Her [nature's] more cryptic ways of working.
- Lonomia caterpillars are extremely cryptic .
Noun
(en noun)- He settled down to the cryptic in the Independent . He loved his crossword. It kept him mentally active, just as gossip did his wife.
- This writer has been solving cryptics for 40 years and can usually crack Araucaria, though it might take a couple of days.
Derived terms
* cryptically * cryptogramdefinite
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- definite''' dimensions; a '''definite''' measure; a '''definite period or interval
- Elements combine in definite proportions.
- definite knowledge
- (Shakespeare)
- the definite article