encrypt
gb/ɪŋkɹˈɪpt/ us/ɪŋkɹˈɪpt/
B2
English
~ 8200
Senses
0 senses
Verb
technical
B2
action
1
convert data into coded form
To change information into a secret code so that only people with the right key or password can read it.
Usage pattern:
to encrypt [data/file/message] (with [a key/password])
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse "encrypt" with "encode". "Encode" can mean any change of format (for example, encoding video), but "encrypt" almost always means making information secret and safe. Another common mistake is using the wrong preposition: say "encrypt the file with a password" or "encrypt data using a key", not "encrypt the file by a password" in most standard usage.
Synonyms
encode (General term for changing information into a different form; it is not always for security, while encrypt usually is.)
|
cipher (A more specialized or old-fashioned term used in cryptography; often sounds more technical or literary than encrypt.)
|
scramble (Informal word suggesting the data is mixed up and unreadable; less precise and less technical than encrypt.)
Antonyms
decrypt (To change encrypted data back to its original readable form, which is the direct opposite process of encrypt.)
|
decode (To turn coded information back into normal form; broader than decrypt but often used as its opposite in everyday language.)
Collocations
encrypt data
|encrypt a file
|encrypt a message
|encrypt traffic
|encrypt the connection
|encrypt sensitive information
Themes
technology
|security
|communication
Examples
- The company encrypts all customer data before storing it on their servers.
- Please encrypt the document and send me the password in a separate message.
- Your internet traffic is encrypted so that hackers cannot read it.
- The app automatically encrypts messages from one phone to another.
Learner examples
- I always encrypt my email when I send private information.
- The bank website says it will encrypt my credit card number.
- You should encrypt this file before you share it online.
- This chat program can encrypt every message you send.
Verb
C1
action
2
make meaning hard to understand
To say or write something in a way that hides the real meaning, often by using difficult or special words.
Usage pattern:
to encrypt [meaning/message/ideas] (in [language/jargon/speech])
Common mistake:
Learners may not realize this is a figurative, less common use based on the technical meaning. It is usually used about language, ideas, or messages, not about physical objects. Do not use it when you simply mean "to make something a little hard"; it suggests a strong or deliberate hiding of meaning.
Synonyms
obscure (Focuses on making the meaning unclear or hard to see; slightly more common in this figurative use than encrypt.)
|
veil (Emphasizes covering or partly hiding the real meaning, often with a deliberate, careful feeling.)
|
cloud (Suggests making something less clear or more confusing, without the strong technical flavour of encrypt.)
Antonyms
clarify (Means to make the meaning clearer and easier to understand, which is the opposite of encrypting it in complex language.)
|
explain (Stresses making ideas plain and understandable, the reverse of hiding them in difficult or coded language.)
Collocations
encrypt his meaning in jargon
|encrypted in technical language
|encrypted political message
|encrypted prose
|encrypt the real message
Themes
communication
|metaphor
|education
Examples
- The contract encrypts its real intentions in dense legal jargon.
- Some politicians encrypt their promises in careful language so they can later deny them.
- Her poetry encrypts personal pain in strange, dreamlike images.
- The author encrypts a sharp social critique in what seems like a simple love story.
Learner examples
- The writer encrypts his true message in difficult words.
- He encrypts his ideas in special technical language that I cannot follow.
- The movie encrypts a political message in a simple story about a family.
- She encrypts her true feelings in quiet, careful sentences.
Grammar
Dictionary form
encrypt
IPA
GB/ɪŋkɹˈɪpt/
US/ɪŋkɹˈɪpt/
Syllables & stress
en - crypt (2 syllables)
Stress on 2nd syllable (crypt)
Word forms
Verb
- Base: encrypt
- 3rd Person Singular: encrypts
- Present Participle: encrypting
- Past: encrypted
Word family
Forms
encrypts
verb
encrypting
verb
encrypted
verb
Core family
encryption
noun B2
Related words
decrypt
verb B2
decryption
noun
Negative and opposite forms
unencrypted
adjective C1
Advanced or less common
cryptography
noun
cryptographic
adjective
Expressions
No expressions linked to this entry yet.