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as in nobody
a person of no importance or influence
it was either write the Great American Novel or be consigned to the status of a cipher in the annals of literature
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to figure
to determine (a value) by doing the necessary mathematical operations
were surprised by how much we had spent on the cruise after we had ciphered out the grand total
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cipher
David Clarey, Journal Sentinel, 27 Nov. 2024
Even the Zodiac Killer's ciphers, which followers of the case and cryptographers have studied for years, may not actually contain many clues.
—Jessica Sager, People.com, 23 Oct. 2024
Stephen Nash, New York Times, 25 July 2017
See All Example Sentences for cipher
Noun
In one instance, the shipping container was a puzzle box, which looked like a cipher, and held 10 switches, according to court records.
—David Clarey, Journal Sentinel, 27 Nov. 2024
Even the Zodiac Killer's ciphers, which followers of the case and cryptographers have studied for years, may not actually contain many clues.
—Jessica Sager, People.com, 23 Oct. 2024
Verb
These remnants, signals from an earlier phase of our human condition, have been endlessly ciphered by generations of archaeologists in the Bears Ears region (which is named for twin buttes near its center).
—Stephen Nash, New York Times, 25 July 2017
See All Example Sentences for cipher
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cipher
Noun
-
My memoir was built of gaps, juxtaposition, weird little nothings.—
Cheri Lucas Rowlands,
Longreads,
16 Dec. 2024
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The one whose legs turned nothings into somethings, improvising the Lions’ entire defensive game plan into a pile of ash?—
Sean Keeler,
The Denver Post,
10 Feb. 2024
Noun
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Those free passes were a frequent abuse of the law in the past, and low-profile corporate nobodies got away with them for years.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Feb. 2025
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The owner, knowing that his establishment is at capacity and taking into consideration the troublesome nobodies who are seeking entry, brusquely sends them away.—
Andy Biggs,
Newsweek,
24 Dec. 2024
Verb
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But Christine and Pam [Koffler] at Killer Films are just so indefatigable in their insistence that there’s going to be a way to figure this out, again.—
Scott Roxborough,
The Hollywood Reporter,
18 Feb. 2025
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For his part, Willard sounded confident that the players would figure it out in the second half against the Hawkeyes.—
Edward Lee,
Baltimore Sun,
17 Feb. 2025
Noun
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People might start flinging zeros at him now in the anticipation of working with the next Christopher Nolan.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Jan. 2025
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But whatever happens, clips are likely to be all over your social media feeds shortly after the clock hits double zeros.—
Hank Sanders,
New York Times,
3 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Emperor tamarins are dwarf monkeys with whiskers that resemble a white moustache.—
Robert Higgs,
cleveland,
1 Feb. 2023
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The dwarf variety grows to be about 5 to 7 feet, ideal for a small garden or accent in a room with limited space.—
Bryce Jones,
Better Homes & Gardens,
24 Jan. 2023
Verb
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By the time the war was nearing its first anniversary, The New York Times calculated that four out of five structures in Jabaliya had been damaged or destroyed.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
21 Feb. 2025
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Despite several plane crashes since the start of 2025, officials insist air travel remains the safest mode of transportation, with the statistical chance of being in a crash being too small to calculate, according to data from the National Safety Council.—
Julia Bonavita,
Fox News,
21 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Also, Holloway is making his permanent move to lightweight, and this rematch could be a surprise hit for the UFC.—
Brian Mazique,
Forbes,
26 Feb. 2025
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Most base layers will be in the 160-grams-per-square-meter (lightweight) to 260-gsm range (heavyweight or expedition weight).—
Scott Gilbertson,
WIRED,
22 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Rather than pour tens of billions of dollars into building data centers as Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and Google have done, Apple has struck partnerships with OpenAI, which fields some A.I. queries on iPhones, and rented computing infrastructure from cloud providers.—
Meaghan Tobin,
New York Times,
24 Feb. 2025
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Only after the full netting process is the capital gains tax computed on the net gain or loss.—
Bob Carlson,
Forbes,
24 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cipher.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cipher. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.
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