1. to convert (a text written in code or cipher) into ordinary language
2. to make out the meaning of (something unclear or hard to understand)

Examples

• The cryptographer worked all night to decipher the enemy’s coded message.
• Archaeologists are still trying to decipher the ancient hieroglyphs.
• I couldn’t decipher his handwriting on the prescription.
• The detective tried to decipher the clues left at the crime scene.
• She struggled to decipher the meaning behind his cryptic email.
• The Rosetta Stone helped scholars decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics.
• Can you decipher what this old map is trying to show us?