undeciphered
Not yet decoded
Undeciphered describes writing or codes that haven't been decoded or interpreted: The undeciphered Indus script remains one of archaeology's great puzzles.
The term applies to ancient scripts like Linear A, encrypted messages, or any symbolic system whose meaning remains unknown.
What's undeciphered may eventually yield to analysis—or may remain permanently mysterious.
Something hard to fathom
- Rosetta StoneDecree in three scripts
- Phaistos DiscAncient stamped clay tablet
- StonehengePrehistoric megalithic circle
- unknownNot yet discovered
secret · cryptic · puzzling · baffling · inscrutable · unexplained · arcane · esoteric
Written words for performance
- glyphsCarved symbolic figures
- textWritten or printed words
- philologyStudy of historical texts
- semioticsStudy of signs, symbols
syntax · morphology · phonology · etymology · orthography · semantics · logogram · syllabary
Symbolic picture-based writing
- cuneiformStylus-impressed ancient script
- pictogramsImages conveying meaning
- inscriptionText permanently marked
- glyphsCarved symbolic figures
stele · tablet · manuscript · relic · artifact · ruins · excavation · paleography
Cannot be deciphered
- illegibleCannot be read
- fadedLost original color
- obscuredMade hard to perceive
- damagedMade worse by injury
fragmentary · worn · eroded · incomplete · corrupted · garbled · indistinct · smudged
Converting data into code
- cryptogramCoded message puzzle
- steganographyHiding data within media
- algorithmFinite problem-solving procedure
- codebookDocument listing codes' meanings
plaintext · scramble · obfuscate · hashing · transposition · substitution · codebreaking · Enigma machine
enigma
Something hard to fathom
- Rosetta StoneDecree in three scripts
- Phaistos DiscAncient stamped clay tablet
- StonehengePrehistoric megalithic circle
unknown · secret · cryptic · puzzling · baffling · inscrutable · unexplained · arcane · esoteric
script
Written words for performance
semiotics · syntax · morphology · phonology · etymology · orthography · semantics · logogram · syllabary · alphabet
hieroglyphics
Symbolic picture-based writing
- cuneiformStylus-impressed ancient script
- pictogramsImages conveying meaning
- inscriptionText permanently marked
glyphs · stele · tablet · manuscript · relic · artifact · ruins · excavation · paleography · epigraphy
unreadable
Cannot be deciphered
damaged · fragmentary · worn · eroded · incomplete · corrupted · garbled · indistinct · smudged · weathered
encryption
Converting data into code
- cryptogramCoded message puzzle
- steganographyHiding data within media
- algorithmFinite problem-solving procedure
codebook · plaintext · scramble · obfuscate · hashing · transposition · substitution · codebreaking · Enigma machine · Bletchley
undeciphereddeciphered
Converted from code
decoded · translated · cracked · solved · decrypted
undecipheredlegible
Able to be read
readable · clear · intelligible · transparent · accessible