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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
Dennis Harvey, Variety, 3 July 2025
To the police detectives who visit his school, teen behavior is a cipher to be decoded, almost literally: their breakthrough arrives when the lead detective’s young son takes pity on his dad and tells him what all the emojis in Jamie’s Instagram replies mean.
—Molly Fischer, New Yorker, 30 June 2025
Tor Constantino, Forbes.com, 5 Sep. 2025
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
Noun
Whereas Elliot remains something of a cipher, a manchild whose amply displayed abs have more definition than his character.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 3 July 2025
To the police detectives who visit his school, teen behavior is a cipher to be decoded, almost literally: their breakthrough arrives when the lead detective’s young son takes pity on his dad and tells him what all the emojis in Jamie’s Instagram replies mean.
—Molly Fischer, New Yorker, 30 June 2025
Verb
The real challenge from AI will likely emerge in the weeks and months ahead as firms cipher through Judge Mehta’s enforcement of behavioral requirements.
—Tor Constantino, Forbes.com, 5 Sep. 2025
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
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My memoir was built of gaps, juxtaposition, weird little nothings.—
Cheri Lucas Rowlands,
Longreads,
16 Dec. 2024
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But nothings more peaceful than tomorrow to a man going through pain today.—
Becca Longmire,
Peoplemag,
22 Feb. 2024
Noun
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More importantly, the narrative explores both sides of the conflict from the POV of grunts and 'nobodies' trying to navigate the post-Civil War state of the galaxy before the fighting stops.—
Fran Ruiz,
Space.com,
4 Aug. 2025
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None of these nobodies is performing like Grimes just yet, and until someone does Grier better get active trying to find a handful of veteran cornerbacks whom this team can call on, and sign to patch up the weakest unit on the team.—
Omar Kelly,
Miami Herald,
30 May 2025
Verb
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Some companies are figuring it out and seeing real value.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
9 Sep. 2025
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Can’t figure a reason for the backwards nature of it.—
Sam McDowell
September 9,
Kansas City Star,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The scoreboard read zeroes across the board.—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
10 Sep. 2025
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Strong technical leaders don't just translate between the world of zeros and ones and the world of dollars and cents.—
Meeky Hwang,
Forbes.com,
25 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Later, of course, it was revealed that a quite human dwarf was hidden within the machine, directing the Turk’s gameplay.—
Adam Verner
September 3,
Literary Hub,
3 Sep. 2025
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The shrub grows 6 to 15 feet tall; there are dwarf, medium-sized, and tall varieties.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
24 Aug. 2025
Verb
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That asymmetry matters when calculating total cost and complexity.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Sep. 2025
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Advertisement Advertisement The period piece presents the sisters as calculating and strategic, yet brutal in their enforcement of control.—
Isabella Wandermurem,
Time,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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This is a lightweight, tactile eBook reader that is doing its best impression of a phone.—
Ewan Spence,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
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This lightweight, silky formula pairs broad-spectrum sun protection with antioxidant-rich white tea to help fend off free radicals and environmental stressors that can accelerate visible aging.—
Christa Joanna Lee,
Allure,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Amazon started out as an online bookstore (1994) and became an e-commerce juggernaut and cloud computing giant.—
Julia Dhar,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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That electric forecast was powered by Oracle’s emergence as a key provider of infrastructure that powers AI companies’ enormous demands for computing power – Oracle’s bread and butter as a cloud services and database software provider.—
Jordan Valinsky,
CNN Money,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cipher.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cipher. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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