construe
Americanverb (used with object)
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to deduce by inference or interpretation; infer.
He construed her intentions from her gestures.
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to translate, especially orally.
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to analyze the syntax of; to rehearse the applicable grammatical rules of.
to construe a sentence.
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to arrange or combine (words, phrases, etc.) syntactically.
verb (used without object)
noun
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the act of construing.
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something that is construed.
verb
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to interpret the meaning of (something)
you can construe that in different ways
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(may take a clause as object) to discover by inference; deduce
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to analyse the grammatical structure of; parse (esp a Latin or Greek text as a preliminary to translation)
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to combine (words) syntactically
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old-fashioned (also intr) to translate literally, esp aloud as an academic exercise
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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construesimple
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construessimple
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have construedperfect
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has construedperfect
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am construingprogressive
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are construingprogressive
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is construingprogressive
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have been construingperfect progressive
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has been construingperfect progressive
Past
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construedsimple
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had construedperfect
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was construingprogressive
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were construingprogressive
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had been construingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of construe
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English construen, from Latin construere “to put together, build,” equivalent to con- con- + struere “to pile up, arrange,” perhaps akin to sternere “to spread, scatter”; see strew, stratum
Explanation
If you interpret something or make sense of it, you construe its meaning. If the new girl in your class asks to sit with you at lunch, you could construe that she wants to be friends. You can never have too many friends! To make an assumption based on evidence is to construe. You could construe that eating an entire box of cookies might make you feel a bit sick. And you might not want to eat them again for a very long time. The opposite of construe is misconstrue, which means to falsely or wrongly interpret. If you get a poor grade on an essay, you shouldn't construe that your teacher dislikes you. If you do, you misconstrue your work for his feelings.
Vocabulary lists containing construe
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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The Bill of Rights
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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:
Attempting to construe the uncivilized and norms-busting battle that Democrats found themselves in, Garcia likened the politics of Trump's second term to a "bar fight."
From Salon ● Feb. 21, 2025
Circuit Court of Appeals, which he said could construe the law differently, or file a fresh lawsuit in state court.
From Seattle Times ● May 16, 2024
“And if there’s an ambiguity, why would we construe it … against democracy?”
From Slate ● Feb. 8, 2024
Prosecutors routinely use it in cases where they can construe harm to the federal government.
From Reuters ● Aug. 2, 2023
"He is the King's Justice, after all. Sending other men to do his office . . . some might construe that as a grave insult."
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
How they decide — their reasoning — might have momentous implications for how the current court construes the Constitution.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 29, 2021
“What emerges on the other side of the apocalypse as ‘Appleseed’ construes it will barely resemble what went into it.
From New York Times ● Jul. 22, 2021
As in none of your business, which often construes to “she’s fine” or “doing well” or “good,” depending on who asked.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 4, 2019
Simon construes constitutional protection from government intrusion as controls against human listening in on phone calls or reading messages.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 12, 2013
He construes a few verses in the Greek testament, and translates one of the articles from Latin into English.
From Life of Johnson, Volume 3 1776-1780 by Hill, George Birkbeck Norman
He implored those same liberals to look beyond the Totenkopf and dig deeper into Platner’s stated policy goals, for which he has expressed nothing that could be construed as Nazi ideology.
From Slate ● Apr. 13, 2026
Dabaie was asked by CNN whether the congressman’s comments can be construed as acknowledging that he cheated on his wife, while denying doing anything illegal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2026
California law says its voter-ID rules “shall be liberally construed to permit voters and new registrants to cast a regular ballot.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 5, 2026
"To the uninformed American listener, the ongoing talks between Denmark and Greenland might have been construed as if Greenland's secession from Denmark was imminent," said Greenland specialist Mikaela Engell.
From Barron's ● Jan. 13, 2026
“In the morning you will need to be at your very best. It is vital that you make a good impression. Your drowsiness might well be construed as laziness.”
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
Reed next tried to convince federal courts that construing the statute that way did not comport with the fundamental fairness required by the 14th Amendment’s due process clause.
From Slate ● Mar. 27, 2026
In construing the meaning of an extraterrestrial dispatch, those who give it a go often try to anticipate what the message might be trying to say.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 3, 2023
"That is consistent with construing the speech and debate argument as a limited immunity like executive privilege. It also corresponds to the most important evidence from Pence," he tweeted.
From Salon ● Mar. 28, 2023
“If you want to explain the different outcomes in people, it may be differences in how people are construing their experiences.”
From Washington Post ● Nov. 1, 2021
He translated fully to each group of creatures the Abbot’s message, in turn construing back to the Father Abbot their grateful thanks with pledges of help and loyalty to Redwall Abbey.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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.
