- present participle of understand.
understanding
Americannoun
-
understanding
plural
-
mental process of a person who comprehends; comprehension; personal interpretation.
My understanding of the word does not agree with yours.
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intellectual faculties; intelligence; mind.
a quick understanding.
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superior power of discernment; enlightened intelligence.
With her keen understanding she should have become a leader.
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knowledge of or familiarity with a particular thing; skill in dealing with or handling something.
an understanding of accounting practice.
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a state of cooperative or mutually tolerant relations between people.
To him, understanding and goodwill were the supreme virtues.
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a mutual agreement, especially of a private, unannounced, or tacit kind.
They had an understanding about who would do the dishes.
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an agreement regulating joint activity or settling differences, often informal or preliminary in character.
After hours of negotiation, no understanding on a new contract was reached.
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Philosophy.
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the power of abstract thought; logical power.
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Kantianism. the mental faculty resolving the sensory manifold into the transcendental unity of apperception.
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adjective
noun
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the ability to learn, judge, make decisions, etc; intelligence or sense
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personal opinion or interpretation of a subject
my understanding of your predicament
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a mutual agreement or compact, esp an informal or private one
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an unofficial engagement to be married
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archaic philosophy the mind, esp the faculty of reason
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with the condition that; providing
adjective
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sympathetic, tolerant, or wise towards people
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possessing judgment and intelligence
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of understanding
First recorded before 1050; understand + -ing 1 ( def. )
Explanation
To be understanding is to be sympathetic to someone’s woes. Understanding a concept means you get it. Your understanding might be that your mother will always drive you to school if you miss the bus. The sum of your knowledge of a certain topic, is your understanding of it. This can change, or deepen as you learn more. But being an understanding person doesn't take a lot of studying — it takes opening your heart to appreciate what someone else feels or experiences. If someone says to you, "I thought we had an understanding," you must have done something unexpected. Here, understanding means "an agreement."
Vocabulary lists containing understanding
Positive Words to Describe People, List 1
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myPerspectives 7.5
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 7
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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.
A better understanding of BFAs could eventually contribute to methods for managing cat urine odor.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
“The hard part of a long-distance relationship is there is a component of fantasy that could creep in that clouds understanding of the relationship or what is going on,” Bobby says.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
Kinghan said the engines, as well other items and services he had supplied, had been delivered with the understanding that those running the museum were the "right people to be the trustees of the boat".
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
“Kind of getting in the groove of things, understanding everything a lot better out there playing a lot more free, a lot more loose and looking more like myself to me,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
All human languages take place at the same pitch and frequency, which makes them sound similar to me as I translate them for my own understanding.
From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga
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.
