comprehension

American  

[kom-pri-hen-shuhn] / ˌkɒm prɪˈhɛn ʃən /

noun

• comprehensions
  plural

1. the act or process of comprehending.

2. the state of being comprehended.

3. perception or understanding.

   His comprehension of physics is amazing for a young student.

4. capacity of the mind to perceive and understand; power to grasp ideas; ability to know.

5. Logic. the connotation of a term.

6. inclusion.

7. comprehensiveness.

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comprehension British  

/ ˌkɒmprɪˈhɛnʃən /

noun

1. the act or capacity of understanding

2. the state of including or comprising something; comprehensiveness

3. education an exercise consisting of a previously unseen passage of text with related questions, designed to test a student's understanding esp of a foreign language

4. obsolete logic the attributes implied by a given concept or term; connotation

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• miscomprehension
  noun
• noncomprehension
  noun
• precomprehension
  noun
• supercomprehension
  noun
• uncomprehension
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• comprehensions
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of comprehension

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin comprehēnsiōn-, stem of comprehēnsiō, from comprehēns(us) “understood” (past participle of comprehendere “to understand,” literally, “to seize together”; see comprehend) + -iō -ion

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Explanation

The word comprehension means understanding. When you lack comprehension of a difficult word, you will likely need to look up its definition and usage in a cool, down-to-earth online dictionary! Comprehension actually comes from the Latin term, comprehensionem, which means "a seizing." When you have comprehension of a subject, you have seized information and incorporated it into your own knowledge. Any kind of mental grasping of an idea or a subject is a kind of comprehension. You might attempt comprehension of a curious situation, like the fact that your goofy roommate always manages to date models. Sometimes, such mysteries are beyond comprehension!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

comprehension comprehensions

On the test that followed, comprehension improved for both groups, but it was highest for the group whose conversation included the bilingual form.

From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026

Intertitle cards bridged some comprehension gaps, but skilled directors used them sparingly.

From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026

Robert Bush has been jailed for 20 years for defrauding nearly 200 families, with the court saying he "caused anguish and pain on a scale beyond comprehension".

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

Petry’s coiled, claustrophobic story of a well-meaning heroine trapped in a system beyond her comprehension or control rises to a pitch of tragedy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

Most of Ross Milton’s talk was beyond her comprehension.

From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt

He may also be rushing through the text and not monitoring his own comprehensions.

From Slate ● Jan. 7, 2021

Reed and Wooten will be tasked with improving hitters’ comprehensions of technology-driven approaches and overseeing new catcher Jonathan Lucroy’s resurgence.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2019

I envy frightfully the simple folk, the altogether simple folk, remote from these cheerless comprehensions of the intellect.

From The Created Legend by John Cournos

Their dull comprehensions failed to connect the remark with the trunk mystery.

From The Crime of the Century or, The Assassination of Dr. Patrick Henry Cronin by Henry M. Hunt

It is usual for the ignorant to call a projector insane, when his schemes exceed the bounds of their shallow comprehensions.

From Travels in the United States of America Commencing in the Year 1793, and Ending in 1797. With the Author's Journals of his Two Voyages Across the Atlantic. by William Priest

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Related Words

• apprehension
• awareness

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