cryptic

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Adam Liptak have pinpointed a winter night in 2016 as the turning point, when the justices “issued a cryptic, one paragraph ruling” on Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan.

From Salon • Apr. 22, 2026

The result is an ode of sorts to elusive bossdom, where the cryptic may remain cryptic, decoded just enough to let us appreciate the achievement.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

Her concurrence is too cryptic, though, to be of much use to lower courts trying to make sense of Gorsuch’s maximalist rhetoric.

From Slate • Mar. 31, 2026

Much like Wordle, the player gets to solve one cryptic crossword clue a day, the game becomes progressively harder as the week goes on.

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026

San Piedro lived and breathed by the salmon, and the cryptic places where they ran at night were the subject of perpetual conversation.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson