apprehend

[ ap-ri-hend ]

/ ˌæp rɪˈhɛnd /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR apprehend ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to take into custody; arrest by legal warrant or authority: The police apprehended the burglars.

to grasp the meaning of; understand, especially intuitively; perceive.

to expect with anxiety, suspicion, or fear; anticipate: apprehending violence.

verb (used without object)

to understand.

to be apprehensive, suspicious, or fearful; fear.

Nearby words

appreciable, appreciate, appreciation, appreciative, appreciatory, apprehend, apprehensible, apprehension, apprehensive, apprehensively, apprentice

Origin of apprehend

1350–1400; Middle English apprehenden < Latin apprehendere to grasp, equivalent to ap- ap-¹ + prehendere to seize (pre- pre- + -hendere to grasp)

Related forms

ap·pre·hend·er, nounre·ap·pre·hend, verbun·ap·pre·hend·ed, adjectiveun·ap·pre·hend·ing, adjective

Can be confused

apprehend comprehend

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for apprehend

Somebody yanks Chan and elbows him and he is momentarily distracted trying to apprehend his assailant.
Protesters Slimed This Good Samaritan Cop|Michael Daly|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the script I worked on, a man pursues a woman in order to apprehend her husband.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As the OSS pieced together the Operation Bernhard network, it made plans to apprehend those participants not already in custody.
On the Trail of Nazi Counterfeiters|Dr. Kevin C. Ruffner|September 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Boya Dee live-tweeted the moments after the attack when police arrived to apprehend the suspects—injuring both.
Rapper Live-Tweets London 'Terror' Attack|Brian Ries|May 22, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Finally, even if the court did decide to pursue charges, it would be unable to apprehend wanted suspects.
Who's Afraid Of The ICC?|Mark Leon Goldberg|November 28, 2012|DAILY BEAST
And as God is thus manifest, would He have us apprehend Him.
Autobiography of Frank G. Allen, Minister of the Gospel|Frank G. Allen
The cow-punchers started to apprehend the principals of the proposed ceremony.
Rolling Stones|O. Henry
"The bird is one of the family, I apprehend, my son," answered Mr. Mayburn.
The Kangaroo Hunters|Anne Bowman
Nor do we apprehend more occasion for doubt relative to the prayer of Moses, to be blotted out of God's book.
Sermons on Various Important Subjects|Andrew Lee
Manifest no distrust, or you may invite the danger you appear to apprehend.
The Last of the Mohicans|James Fenimore Cooper

British Dictionary definitions for apprehend

apprehend

/ (ˌæprɪˈhɛnd) /

verb

(tr) to arrest and escort into custody; seize

to perceive or grasp mentally; understand

(tr) to await with fear or anxiety; dread

Word Origin for apprehend

C14: from Latin apprehendere to lay hold of

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