construe
Americanverb (used with object)
-
construes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
construed,
past participle, past
-
construing
present participle
-
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)
-
construes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
construed,
past participle, past
-
construing
present participle
noun
-
the act of construing.
-
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)
-
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
-
construessimple
-
have construedperfect
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has construedperfect
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am construingprogressive
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are construingprogressive
-
is construingprogressive
-
have been construingperfect progressive
-
has been construingperfect progressive
Past
-
construedsimple
-
had construedperfect
-
was construingprogressive
-
were construingprogressive
-
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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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:
By comparison, it is less clear how to construe Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s express but unexplained wish to grant the same petition.
From Slate ● Dec. 16, 2024
And she offered a master class in how not to construe statutes.
From Salon ● Jul. 16, 2024
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
"A second cut would display their fears more openly and indicates greater weakness; we construe a second cut as a bearish signal unless the cuts are extremely substantive."
From Reuters ● May 31, 2023
Once he understood this, and once he could construe it as his own idea, Joe Cassano changed his mind.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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
The two are mirror images of a sort: one construes national identity as changeless, its rediscovery a prelude to renewed greatness; the other sees it as a product to be clarified and marketed.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 7, 2017
The Supreme Court of the United States construes the Constitution, without any reference to the State Legislatures, and so we construe law without any reference to the Annual Conferences.
From Samantha among the Brethren — Volume 7 by Marietta Holley
Uganda's military chief, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, said the withdrawal had been made so as "not to be construed as being opposed to His Majesty King Charles III".
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
A Senedd spokesperson said no breach had been committed by the MS, although the BBC was told the presiding officer's comments could be construed as a final warning to all members.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
As we have shown, courts long interpreted these life exceptions to protect physicians acting in good faith to preserve a patient’s life—and these actors construed “life” generously and with deference to physicians’ professional judgment.
From Slate ● Jun. 16, 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
But he couldn’t remember, and besides it was impossible to know what action might later be construed as a crime.
From "The Red Pony" by John Steinbeck
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
The majority opinion and two dissents featured conflicting conceptions of “textualism” in construing statutes.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 16, 2020
Justice Department lawyers contend that Judge Peter J. Messitte of United States District Court in Greenbelt, Md., has wrongly interpreted the meaning of the emoluments clauses, construing the bans against corruption far too broadly.
From New York Times ● Dec. 5, 2018
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.
