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Synonyms

interpret

American

[in-tur-prit] / ɪnˈtɜr prɪt /

verb (used with object)

to give or provide the meaning of; explain; explicate; elucidate.

to interpret the hidden meaning of a parable.
to construe or understand in a particular way.

to interpret a reply as favorable.
to bring out the meaning of (a dramatic work, music, etc.) by performance or execution.
to perform or render (a song, role in a play, etc.) according to one's own understanding or sensitivity.

The actor interpreted Lear as a weak, pitiful old man.
to translate orally.
Computers.
1. to use an interpreter to transform (a program written in a high-level language) into a sequence of machine actions, one statement at a time, executing each statement immediately before going on to transform the next one.
2. to read (the patterns of holes in punched cards) with an interpreter, printing the interpreted data on the same cards so that they can be read more conveniently by people.

verb (used without object)

to translate what is said in a foreign language.
to explain something; give an explanation.

interpret British

/ ɪnˈtɜːprɪt /

verb

(tr) to clarify or explain the meaning of; elucidate
(tr) to construe the significance or intention of

to interpret a smile as an invitation
(tr) to convey or represent the spirit or meaning of (a poem, song, etc) in performance
(intr) to act as an interpreter; translate orally

"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

Usage

What are other ways to say interpret?

To interpret is to give or provide the meaning of something, or to construe or understand something in a particular way. What’s the difference between interpret, elucidate, expound, and explain? Find out on Thesaurus.com.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of interpret

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English interpreten, from Latin interpretārī, derivative of interpret-, stem of interpres “explainer”

Explanation

When you interpret something, you make sense of it. You could interpret a graph, a foreign language, or even Mona Lisa's odd smile. If you're ordering food in a foreign land, you may need someone to interpret the menu for you. When you get tripped up or struggle to understand a subject even in your own language — like calculus, for example — sometimes you can find meaning, or interpret it for yourself. Or sometimes you'll need a teacher to work on the problem with you, showing how to interpret the mathematical language.

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Vocabulary lists containing interpret

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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:

interpret interprets interpreted interpreting

He’s malleable and clueless about a lot of things, including whether it’s appropriate to interpret a female colleague’s nervous vomiting as an indicator that she’s pregnant.

From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2026

The incident highlights the difficulties companies can still face when using AI to speed up or simplify work processes, especially when it is used to interpret words in a specific context.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

For this characteristic, judgments of humans and AI followed largely similar patterns, suggesting that people interpret awareness and consciousness in fundamentally different ways.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026

The analysts tell clients in a note that they view any signals as directional only, and interpret the read-through with caution.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

“Would anyone like me to help them interpret the shadowy portents within their Orb?” she murmured over the clinking of her bangles.

From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling

To investigate how the public interprets hurricane forecasts, the research team surveyed residents of Florida and Georgia.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2026

The new chair has made a point of not providing his own economic forecasts or discussing how he interprets the most recent economic data.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

What those commitments are - and how Iran interprets them - will help determine whether this deal sticks.

From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026

Its on-board AI interprets the data, identifying objects even when mounted on autonomous craft with no remote connectivity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026

For the King, or at least this is how Malory interprets him, was the patron saint of chivalry.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

However, the team emphasized that the findings should not be interpreted as evidence of a treatment for aggression in humans.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026

Ultimately, the client quit over what I interpreted to be misunderstandings on both sides.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

Success and failure help to refine how the data is interpreted.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

"At the same time, the warning could be interpreted as stopping short of completely foreclosing inter-Korean dialogue: essentially telling Seoul not to interfere unless it has something substantial to offer."

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

He returned to America in time to be elected the first vice president of the United States, which most observers, including Adams himself, interpreted as a popular mandate on his historical contribution to independence.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

This shift may allow the brain to focus more on interpreting information through existing knowledge rather than recording every new experience in precise detail.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2026

This could help explain why people sometimes repeat harmful patterns in relationships or continue interpreting situations negatively despite evidence that challenges their assumptions.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2026

Pène du Bois became deeply attached to Hopper and wrote some selfless essays interpreting and defending Hopper’s art.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Alan Mandell, an award-winning actor, arts patron and arts administrator, was best known for co-founding the San Quentin Drama Workshop and interpreting the plays of Samuel Beckett.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

Piggy knelt by him, one hand on the great shell, listening and interpreting to the assembly.

From "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023