cryptogram

cryptogram — noun

1. a message that has been written in a secret code, so that only people who know h

1.名詞C1
釋義

a message that has been written in a secret code, so that only people who know how to decode it can understand what it really says

例句

The spy hid a cryptogram inside the hollow heel of her left shoe.

object of hide: a hidden coded message

Christopher spent the whole weekend trying to solve the cryptogram in the magazine.

collocation: solve a cryptogram

同義詞
  • cipher

    can mean the coded text, but more often the system used to encode it

  • code

    broader everyday word; a cryptogram is specifically the written coded message

用法筆記

Often the object of verbs like solve, crack, or decode. Refers to the written coded text itself, not the method used to create it (that is a cipher or code).

常見錯誤

❌I used a cryptogram to hide the message.
✅I used a cipher to write the cryptogram.
💡a cryptogram is the finished coded text, while a cipher is the system that scrambles it.

2. a picture, sign, or shape that carries a secret or deeper meaning beyond what it

2.名詞C2
釋義

a picture, sign, or shape that carries a secret or deeper meaning beyond what it appears to show on the surface

例句

The painter filled the portrait with small cryptograms that only close friends could read.

image carrying a hidden meaning

Kofi believed the carved circle was a cryptogram for the rising sun.

highlights: a symbol standing for a deeper idea

同義詞
  • symbol

    everyday word; a cryptogram suggests the meaning is deliberately hidden

  • emblem

    a sign that stands for something, but usually with an openly known meaning

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is a visual sign or image, not written code. Common in writing about art, design, or symbolism.