Synonyms

interpret

American

[in-tur-prit] / ɪnˈtɜr prɪt /

verb (used with object)

to give or provide the meaning of; explain; explicate; elucidate.

to interpret the hidden meaning of a parable.
to construe or understand in a particular way.

to interpret a reply as favorable.
to bring out the meaning of (a dramatic work, music, etc.) by performance or execution.
to perform or render (a song, role in a play, etc.) according to one's own understanding or sensitivity.

The actor interpreted Lear as a weak, pitiful old man.
to translate orally.
Computers.
1. to use an interpreter to transform (a program written in a high-level language) into a sequence of machine actions, one statement at a time, executing each statement immediately before going on to transform the next one.
2. to read (the patterns of holes in punched cards) with an interpreter, printing the interpreted data on the same cards so that they can be read more conveniently by people.

verb (used without object)

to translate what is said in a foreign language.
to explain something; give an explanation.

interpret British

/ ɪnˈtɜːprɪt /

verb

(tr) to clarify or explain the meaning of; elucidate
(tr) to construe the significance or intention of

to interpret a smile as an invitation
(tr) to convey or represent the spirit or meaning of (a poem, song, etc) in performance
(intr) to act as an interpreter; translate orally

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

What are other ways to say interpret?

To interpret is to give or provide the meaning of something, or to construe or understand something in a particular way. What’s the difference between interpret, elucidate, expound, and explain? Find out on Thesaurus.com.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of interpret

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English interpreten, from Latin interpretārī, derivative of interpret-, stem of interpres “explainer”

Explanation

When you interpret something, you make sense of it. You could interpret a graph, a foreign language, or even Mona Lisa's odd smile. If you're ordering food in a foreign land, you may need someone to interpret the menu for you. When you get tripped up or struggle to understand a subject even in your own language — like calculus, for example — sometimes you can find meaning, or interpret it for yourself. Or sometimes you'll need a teacher to work on the problem with you, showing how to interpret the mathematical language.

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Vocabulary lists containing interpret

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

interpret interprets interpreted interpreting

His jokes don’t help him process his experience — he processes it first, then turns it into material that others can interpret.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

Some unironic astrology: To celebrate Slate’s 30th birthday, Slate writer Heather Schwedel asked several astrologers to interpret the magazine’s birth chart.

From Slate ● Oct. 13, 2026

Not all forecasters use the same scale to interpret El Nino, and the comparison is complicated by the background effects of climate change.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026

“Every chair experiences a period in which markets interpret the words very differently than they anticipated and have to correct,” Rosengren said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

“We shall call you the prophet and you shall interpret the bones for us,” the captain says.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

The new chair has made a point of not providing his own economic forecasts or discussing how he interprets the most recent economic data.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

Together, these abilities suggest that traveling waves may be central to how the brain interprets incoming information rather than simply reflecting background electrical activity.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 18, 2026

What those commitments are - and how Iran interprets them - will help determine whether this deal sticks.

From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026

Arkeus’s AI-powered platform gathers and interprets optical data from proprietary sensors, including light not visible to the human eye.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026

But they also light up when the brain interprets something as pleasurable, even if the behavior doesn’t appear to have the survival value of, say, eating or procreating.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

"At the same time, the warning could be interpreted as stopping short of completely foreclosing inter-Korean dialogue: essentially telling Seoul not to interfere unless it has something substantial to offer."

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

“The appropriate monetary policy should not be interpreted as solely driven by the energy supply shock but rather requires a multi-pronged diagnostic assessment,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

The measure also states it “should be interpreted and implemented to afford the fullest possible weight to the interest of, and the approval and realization of, essential projects.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Critics interpreted the statue as a commentary on the consequences of blind allegiance to symbols.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

Wegener investigated the many plant and fossil anomalies that did not fit comfortably into the standard model of Earth history and realized that very little of it made sense if conventionally interpreted.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

Alan Mandell, an award-winning actor, arts patron and arts administrator, was best known for co-founding the San Quentin Drama Workshop and interpreting the plays of Samuel Beckett.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

They are also particularly interesting to geneticists because some have evolved unusual ways of interpreting DNA instructions.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026

Its highly irregular shape and extreme proximity to Mars make interpreting its gravity and internal structure especially challenging.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026

The latest claims are once again highly personal in their attacks on King Charles and the royals, interpreting their motives in a very harsh light.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

On learning of this request the crowd outside the Tribune booed and hissed, correctly interpreting the move as an attempt to gain time to lobby for more votes.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023