construe

[ verb kuhn-stroo; noun kon-stroo ]

See synonyms for: construe construed on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),con·strued, con·stru·ing.

to give the meaning or intention of; explain; interpret.
to deduce by inference or interpretation; infer: He construed her intentions from her gestures.

to translate, especially orally.
to analyze the syntax of; to rehearse the applicable grammatical rules of: to construe a sentence.
to arrange or combine (words, phrases, etc.) syntactically.

verb (used without object),con·strued, con·stru·ing.

to admit of grammatical analysis or interpretation.

noun

the act of construing.
something that is construed.

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

Other words from construe

con·stru·er, noun

Words Nearby construe

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use construe in a sentence

At one of his rallies, Kivalov reportedly gave out packages with food items and money, which investigators construe to be bribes.
Ukraine’s Wild and Wooly Elections | Anna Nemtsova | October 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Can any of your readers tell me whence comes the following Sotadic Elegiac poem, and construe it for me?
Notes and Queries, Number 177, March 19, 1853 | Various
I would not appear to dictate, but do you not fear Mr. Purcell may construe your non-attendance into disrespect to himself?
Alone | Marion Harland
Read over the Ovid to Jefferson, and construe about ten lines more.
The Life and Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Volume I (of 2) | Florence A. Thomas Marshall
After dinner construe Ovid (100 lines); finish second book of Spenser, and read two cantos of the third.
The Life and Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Volume I (of 2) | Florence A. Thomas Marshall

Some refer to Minerva, and construe the passage with reference to the Panathenaic celebration.
Studies on Homer and the Homeric Age, Vol. 1 of 3 | W. E. Gladstone

British Dictionary definitions for construe

construe

/ (kənˈstruː) /

verb-strues, -struing or -strued (mainly tr)

to interpret the meaning of (something): you can construe that in different ways
(may take a clause as object) to discover by inference; deduce

to analyse the grammatical structure of; parse (esp a Latin or Greek text as a preliminary to translation)
to combine (words) syntactically
(also intr) old-fashioned to translate literally, esp aloud as an academic exercise

noun

old-fashioned something that is construed, such as a piece of translation

Origin of construe

C14: from Latin construere to pile up; see construct

Derived forms of construe

construable, adjective
construability, noun
construer, noun

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

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