variants
or elliptic
1
as in cryptic
having an often intentionally veiled or uncertain meaning
the poet's elliptical style is such that the reader often senses that an allusion is being made—but to what exactly?
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
3
as in concise
marked by the use of few words to convey much information or meaning
his elliptical replies can seem rude to some people, but that's just his way
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of elliptical
The accents of remorse are elliptical, inarticulate.
—
Sarah Beckwith, New Yorker, 26 May 2025
Spirals are only one of four major classifications for galaxies; the others are elliptical, irregular and peculiar.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 8 May 2025
Objects that come from inside our solar system tend to move along a closed elliptical orbit, while interstellar objects follow a hyperbolic orbit, and move fast enough to be able to escape gravity.
—Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 July 2025
That occurs because Earth's orbit around the sun is slightly elliptical.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 19 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for elliptical
Sarah Beckwith, New Yorker, 26 May 2025
Spirals are only one of four major classifications for galaxies; the others are elliptical, irregular and peculiar.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 8 May 2025
Objects that come from inside our solar system tend to move along a closed elliptical orbit, while interstellar objects follow a hyperbolic orbit, and move fast enough to be able to escape gravity.
—Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 July 2025
That occurs because Earth's orbit around the sun is slightly elliptical.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 19 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for elliptical
Recent Examples of Synonyms for elliptical
Adjective
-
Fans began speculating what all of the cryptic posts might signal, with some social media users suggesting the possibility of the pair remastering and releasing their 1973 album.—
Jordana Comiter,
People.com,
19 July 2025
-
In the days leading up to the show, Tyler hinted at a surprise set for July 21 by posting cryptic images on his Instagram, including a Louis Vuitton bag, a mannequin’s head and a trumpet player in a band uniform.—
Mitchell Peters,
Billboard,
19 July 2025
Adjective
-
The Kohler Sunstruck oval tub is standard in the primary bathroom if this layout is chosen.—
Benjamin C Tankersley,
Washington Post,
1 Feb. 2023
-
This simple opener works well on circular cans but may not be effective on dented, square, or oval cans.—
Maya Polton,
Better Homes & Gardens,
31 Jan. 2023
Adjective
-
Draft concise speaker notes, of a maximum length of 40 words, to accompany each slide.—
Bernard Marr,
Forbes.com,
25 July 2025
-
Those include developing a clear and concise framework of the city’s role in disaster response, creating a city-specific recovery plan, clarifying the roles of the mayor’s office and City Council and updating disaster communication plan, policies and training.—
Jaelyn Rodriguez,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 July 2025
Adjective
-
Automate routine monitoring, but require cross-functional review for ambiguous or high-impact alerts, providing clear explanations.—
Dr. Chiranjiv Roy,
Forbes.com,
25 July 2025
-
At times, though, there’s nothing ambiguous or veiled in his work.—
Anastasia Tsioulcas,
New York Times,
24 July 2025
Adjective
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Individual games through an 18-week season are so variable that sports books generally don’t offer odds for every single game in a season for more than just a brief moment to create headlines.—
Chad Graff,
New York Times,
23 July 2025
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The scene grew chaotic after immigration agents tried to arrest Baraka for trespassing, and McIver's elbows appeared to make brief contact with an immigration officer.—
Sarah N. Lynch,
USA Today,
23 July 2025
Adjective
-
This enigmatic character used his power to control the time-stream in a post-Crisis on Infinite Earths scenario to create a smaller universe with only two populated planets: our Earth and Krypton.—
Fran Ruiz,
Space.com,
17 July 2025
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Other notable cast members include John Lithgow as Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore; Paapa Essiedu as enigmatic potions professor Severus Snape; and Lox Pratt as Hogwarts bully Draco Malfoy.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
15 July 2025
Adjective
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The judge was curt but courteous; a Spanish-language interpreter was available on a large video screen to his right.—
Jordan Salama,
New Yorker,
25 July 2025
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If that bluntness sound a little prosaic at first, there’s a curt poetry to it that comes into focus listening through 15 tracks that consist almost entirely of sisters Danielle, Alana and Este Haim handing in their respective resignations to long- or short-term partners, effectively immediately.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
20 June 2025
Adjective
-
The cause of death was traumatic blunt force injuries.—
Shannon Tyler,
Idaho Statesman,
21 July 2025
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The magnetized tank struck the child, who died of blunt force trauma injuries.—
Dakin Andone,
CNN Money,
20 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Elliptical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/elliptical. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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