comprehend
Americanverb (used with object)
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comprehends,
present (3rd person singular)
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comprehended,
past participle, past
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comprehending
present participle
verb
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to perceive or understand
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(tr) to comprise or embrace; include
Usage
What are other ways to say comprehend? To comprehend something is to grasp it with the mind. How is comprehend different from know and understand? Learn more on Thesaurus.com.
Synonym Usage
See include.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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comprehendernoun
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precomprehendverb (used with object)
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noncomprehendingadjective
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self-comprehendingadjective
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uncomprehendedadjective
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uncomprehendingadjective
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well-comprehendedadjective
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comprehendinglyadverb
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noncomprehendinglyadverb
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uncomprehendinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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comprehendsimple
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comprehendssimple
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have comprehendedperfect
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has comprehendedperfect
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am comprehendingprogressive
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are comprehendingprogressive
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is comprehendingprogressive
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have been comprehendingperfect progressive
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has been comprehendingperfect progressive
Past
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comprehendedsimple
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had comprehendedperfect
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was comprehendingprogressive
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were comprehendingprogressive
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had been comprehendingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of comprehend
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English comprehenden, from Latin comprehendere, from com- com- + prehendere “to seize” ( see prehension)
Explanation
To comprehend something is to understand it, like when you have to read a difficult passage more than once in order to comprehend it. When you comprehend something, you grasp its meaning. Comprehend is a verb that originates from the Latin word comprehendere, which means “catch or seize.” When an idea is clear to you and you understand it completely, you comprehend it, like doing extra problems to make sure you comprehend a difficult algebra rule, or finding it hard to comprehend why someone would paint his house neon yellow.
Vocabulary lists containing comprehend
Vocabulary of the Common Core
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List 4
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Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
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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:
“There is no privileged access to understanding its direction. You need to look through as many windows as possible. We humans are limited and exhausted and can’t comprehend the world in its fullness.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
Jacob Coxon cautioned that both OpenAI and Anthropic are recklessly racing to build AI systems they cannot fully control or comprehend.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
"I know that many are still struggling to comprehend the scale of damage and personal loss," Tuhill added.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Hard as it may seem now to comprehend, some people developed healthier relationships with others and had a stronger sense of their own place in the world.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
He doth not comprehend my full Palsy nor how Agitation inspires its Assaults through the Disequilibrium of the Humors, viz. the Superabundance of Bile.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
College Football Brain is why we still have Zombie Bowl games layered on top of this 12-team playoff, as if anyone actually cares or comprehends why the quarterfinal needs to masquerade as the Cotton Bowl.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 1, 2025
They communicate verbally and also, often in games, only with a nod or a look that the other instantly comprehends.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2024
“I don’t think she comprehends the breadth and depth of the suffering she has caused,” a tearful Ruetten said.
From Seattle Times ● May 21, 2024
While performing in the viola section of an orchestra recently, my mind drifted briefly to the complex method through which the brain comprehends time.
From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2023
But also he would have understood the other part, which I don’t think even Mercer comprehends.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
They are to be relished if not comprehended.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
I intellectually comprehended this rule, but living through it was another thing entirely.
From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2025
“I could have never comprehended such a perfect opportunity to align with my goals as an artist and future arts leader and an arts advocate.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2025
“I don't think we really comprehended that at the time.”
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2024
The smile comprehended Montenegro's troubled history and sympathized with the brave struggles of the Montenegrin people.
From " The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
"She's nonverbal, so we're not sure how much she is comprehending about what is going on at the moment," Lauer told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
“Higher capacity is required for complex transactions like contracts, which require not just grasping the immediate exchange, but also comprehending finer details, consequences and the broader context.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
And once comprehending, shall he go with the flow?
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2026
Yet as commander in chief, wisely comprehending that no war to save the Union could be waged, much less won, exclusively by Republicans, Lincoln sought out Democrats to help battle secession.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026
What Lee was having trouble comprehending was how his indebtedness to Doc made it necessary that he give credit to Mack.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
