ciphering
Converting to code
Ciphering is doing arithmetic—adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing.
The word is old-fashioned, evoking schoolhouse slates and mental calculation: The children spent the morning ciphering.
It can also mean encoding messages in cipher, though this sense is less common.
The noun ciphering refers to the activity itself.
Converting data into code
- decryptionConverting ciphertext to plaintext
- codeSymbolic communication system
- keyLock-opening device
- plaintextUnencoded readable information
ciphertext · algorithm · cryptanalysis · codebreaking · Enigma · Bletchley · substitution · transposition
Act of hiding something
- hiddenKept out of sight
- covertIntentionally concealed
- classifiedRestricted from disclosure
- confidentialMeant to stay secret
clandestine · secret message · spy · espionage · intelligence · coded · obscured · veiled
Mathematical problem-solving process
- computationMathematical processing work
- arithmeticMathematics of basic operations
- mathematicsScience of quantity and structure
- additionJoining quantities mathematically
subtraction · multiplication · division · fractions · integers · numerals · reckoning · figuring
encryption
Converting data into code
- decryptionConverting ciphertext to plaintext
- codeSymbolic communication system
- keyLock-opening device
plaintext · ciphertext · algorithm · cryptanalysis · codebreaking · Enigma · Bletchley · substitution · transposition · RSA
concealment
Act of hiding something
- hiddenKept out of sight
- covertIntentionally concealed
- classifiedRestricted from disclosure
confidential · clandestine · secret message · spy · espionage · intelligence · coded · obscured · veiled · disguised
calculation
Mathematical problem-solving process
- computationMathematical processing work
- arithmeticMathematics of basic operations
- mathematicsScience of quantity and structure
addition · subtraction · multiplication · division · fractions · integers · numerals · reckoning · figuring · sums
cryptogram
Coded message puzzle
wordplay · brain teaser · solving · crossword · acrostic · decoder ring · challenge · conundrum · cracking
- cryptographyAES, encryption, ciphertext, decryption, RSA
- wordplaypun, puns, punning, punny, punster
cipheringdeciphering
Interpreting coded information
decoding · decrypting · decryption · cracking · unscrambling
cipheringguessing
Estimating without certainty
innumeracy · estimating · approximating · intuiting · eyeballing