interpretation
[in-tur-pri-tey-shuh n]
- the act of interpreting; elucidation; explication: This writer's work demands interpretation.
- an explanation of the meaning of another's artistic or creative work; an elucidation: an interpretation of a poem.
- a conception of another's behavior: a charitable interpretation of his tactlessness.
- a way of interpreting.
- the rendering of a dramatic part, music, etc., so as to bring out the meaning, or to indicate one's particular conception of it.
- oral translation.
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Origin of interpretation
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
perception, clarification, explanation, analysis, meaning, translation, reading, judgment, knowing, grip, apprehension, slant, insight, assimilation, discernment, comprehension, grasp, awarenessExamples from the Web for interpretation
Contemporary Examples
It became more about the people and their artwork and their interpretation of Daryl.
Norman Reedus on Motorcycles, Multitasking, And That Mid-Season Finale: “This Was A Rough One”Oliver Jones
December 2, 2014
One interpretation suggests he is the embodiment of whisky, a lewd allusion to a tenured tradition of Scottish alcoholism.
His reply left no room for interpretation: “We will never change the name of the team.”
The interpretation of the Tiananmen crackdown remains a charged issue in China, both politically and emotionally.
The Watchers are a very ancient tradition, going back over two thousand years in Jewish and Christian interpretation.
Historical Examples
"It may be better not to seek the interpretation," persists Eve.
The New Adam and Eve (From "Mosses From An Old Manse")Nathaniel Hawthorne
That, I think, must be regarded as sound, and a just interpretation of the law.
Samantha Among the Brethren, Part 7.Josiah Allen's Wife (Marietta Holley)
Leonora neither accepted nor rejected my interpretation of what had passed.
Tales And Novels, Volume 8 (of 10)Maria Edgeworth
Let us look for a moment at these two ideas: interpretation and guidance.
The Child and the CurriculumJohn Dewey
So much for the use of the subject-matter in interpretation.
The Child and the CurriculumJohn Dewey
interpretation
- the act or process of interpreting or explaining; elucidation
- the result of interpreting; an explanation
- a particular view of an artistic work, esp as expressed by stylistic individuality in its performance
- explanation, as of the environment, a historical site, etc, provided by the use of original objects, personal experience, visual display material, etc
- logic an allocation of significance to the terms of a purely formal system, by specifying ranges for the variables, denotations for the individual constants, etc; a function from the formal language to such elements of a possible world
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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
Word Origin and History for interpretation
n.
mid-14c. (late 13c. in Anglo-French), from Old French interpretacion (12c.) and directly from Latin interpretationem (nominative interpretatio) "explanation, exposition," noun of action from past participle stem of interpretari (see interpret).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
interpretation
(ĭn-tûr′prĭ-tā′shən)- The act or process of explaining the meaning of something.
- A psychotherapist's explanation of the meaning of a patient's remarks, dreams, memories, experiences, and behavior.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.