construed

American  

[kuhn-strood] / kənˈstrud /

adjective

1. interpreted or understood.

   Degrees from these “diploma mills” are often awarded based on vaguely construed life experience.

2. arrived at by inference or interpretation.

   Public interest must necessarily overlap with a correctly construed definition of “national interest.”

3. arranged or combined syntactically.

   Her soothing tones and delicate, thoughtfully construed statements only burrowed further and more painfully into his heart.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of construe.

Other Word Forms

• unconstrued adjective

Etymology

Origin of construed

construe ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

"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

Meanwhile, if announcements at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show “are construed as bullish ‘buy the news’ type events,” that could further energize investors, according to Klein.

From MarketWatch

"It could be construed as the early gathering of intelligence for subsequent operations, or just a warning of such," he added.

From BBC

"Nothing in this MOU is, or shall be interpreted or construed as an offer, promise or acceptance of any form of bribery, undue influence or corrupt practice," the document says.

From BBC

“If you read it, I’m not sure how it could be construed as a threat. … I’d like to see journalists held at a higher standard.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• define
• infer
• interpret
• parse
• translate