comprehend

[kom-pri-hend]

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verb (used with object)

to understand the nature or meaning of; grasp with the mind; perceive: He did not comprehend the significance of the ambassador's remark.

to take in or embrace; include; comprise: The course will comprehend all facets of Japanese culture.

Nearby words

Origin of comprehend

1350–1400; Middle English comprehenden < Latin comprehendere, equivalent to com- com- + prehendere to grasp; see prehensile

SYNONYMS FOR comprehend

1. See know¹. 2. See include.

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Related forms

com·pre·hend·er, nouncom·pre·hend·ing·ly, adverbnon·com·pre·hend·ing, adjectivenon·com·pre·hend·ing·ly, adverb

pre·com·pre·hend, verb (used with object)self-com·pre·hend·ing, adjectiveun·com·pre·hend·ed, adjectiveun·com·pre·hend·ing, adjectiveun·com·pre·hend·ing·ly, adverbwell-com·pre·hend·ed, adjective

Can be confusedapprehend comprehend

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

Examples from the Web for comprehend

It is very difficult to sit by helplessly while a friend is imprisoned for a crime that is too implausible to comprehend.
Behind Bars for the Holidays: 11 Political Prisoners We Want to See Free In 2015|Movements.Org|December 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I could not comprehend the fact that Kristen and Lorne and Bill and all these people are singing “Happy Birthday” to me.
How Aidy Bryant Stealthily Became Your Favorite ‘Saturday Night Live’ Star|Kevin Fallon|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Indeed, when you read it, you comprehend how, almost inevitably, his oratorical gifts eclipsed his skill as a writer.
Martin Luther King’s Nobel Speech Is an Often Ignored Masterpiece|Malcolm Jones|October 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Their stories were told again and again in an attempt to assimilate the tragedy, to comprehend the incomprehensible.
The Resilient City: New York After 9/11|John Avlon|September 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Few can comprehend the anguish a president endures, even in times of peace, and especially in times of war.
Yes, Obama Was Right to Golf After Foley|Daniel G. Hill|August 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
"I comprehend you," said she, with an air of some perplexity.
Arthur Mervyn|Charles Brockden Brown
They practiced what he had preached to a mightier race, practiced it with a thoroughness beyond the kind of man to comprehend.
Happy Ending|Fredric Brown
A letter from Heriot informed me that the affair between Edbury and me was settled: he could not comprehend how.
The Adventures of Harry Richmond, Complete|George Meredith
I begin now to comprehend your disdain of customs which impose chains so idly galling on the liberty of our sex.
The Parisians, Complete|Edward Bulwer-Lytton
That she does not wait to comprehend the Infinite before she can love.
Folly as It Flies|Fanny Fern

British Dictionary definitions for comprehend

comprehend

verb

to perceive or understand

(tr) to comprise or embrace; include

Word Origin for comprehend

C14: from Latin comprehendere, from prehendere to seize

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

Word Origin and History for comprehend

comprehend

mid-14c., "to understand," from Latin comprehendere "to take together, to unite; include; seize" (of catching fire or the arrest of criminals); also "to comprehend, perceive" (to seize or take in the mind), from com- "completely" (see com-) + prehendere "to catch hold of, seize" (see prehensile). Related: Comprehended; comprehending.