comprehend
Americanverb
-
to perceive or understand
-
(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.
Related Words
See include.
Other Word Forms
- comprehender noun
- comprehendingly adverb
- noncomprehending adjective
- noncomprehendingly adverb
- precomprehend verb (used with object)
- self-comprehending adjective
- uncomprehended adjective
- uncomprehending adjective
- uncomprehendingly adverb
- well-comprehended adjective
Etymology
Origin of comprehend
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English comprehenden, from Latin comprehendere, from com- com- + prehendere “to seize” ( prehension )
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.
“If there is a silver lining to this, the amount of support they’ve gotten is beyond my ability to comprehend. The families are so grateful.”
From Los Angeles Times
Even the person footing the bill couldn’t quite comprehend how fast it all came together.
"It was something that I couldn't comprehend. They can see your location. They can turn on the camera. They can turn on the microphone, listen to you," al-Masarir tells the BBC.
From BBC
Chava, whose nature demands that she fulfill the needs of others, struggles to comprehend how a person can feel desire for something, yet not wish for its actual fulfillment.
“Too difficult to comprehend them. Let’s find the human underneath.”
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
