understanding

American  

[uhn-der-stan-ding] / ˌʌn dərˈstæn dɪŋ /

noun

1. mental process of a person who comprehends; comprehension; personal interpretation.

   My understanding of the word does not agree with yours.

2. intellectual faculties; intelligence; mind.

   a quick understanding.

3. superior power of discernment; enlightened intelligence.

   With her keen understanding she should have become a leader.

4. knowledge of or familiarity with a particular thing; skill in dealing with or handling something.

   an understanding of accounting practice.

5. a state of cooperative or mutually tolerant relations between people.

   To him, understanding and goodwill were the supreme virtues.

6. a mutual agreement, especially of a private, unannounced, or tacit kind.

   They had an understanding about who would do the dishes.

7. 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.

8. Philosophy.

   1. the power of abstract thought; logical power.

   2. Kantianism. the mental faculty resolving the sensory manifold into the transcendental unity of apperception.

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adjective

1. characterized by understanding; prompted by, based on, or demonstrating comprehension, intelligence, discernment, empathy, or the like.

   an understanding attitude.

understanding British  

/ ˌʌndəˈstændɪŋ /

noun

1. the ability to learn, judge, make decisions, etc; intelligence or sense

2. personal opinion or interpretation of a subject

   my understanding of your predicament

3. a mutual agreement or compact, esp an informal or private one

4. an unofficial engagement to be married

5. archaic philosophy the mind, esp the faculty of reason

6. with the condition that; providing

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adjective

1. sympathetic, tolerant, or wise towards people

2. possessing judgment and intelligence

Other Word Forms

• nonunderstanding adjective
• nonunderstandingly adverb
• self-understanding noun
• understandingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of understanding

First recorded before 1050; understand + -ing ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

For his last album, “Hardstone Psycho,” Don Toliver delivered a grungey understanding of biker culture.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

By understanding how cancer cells use this system differently from normal cells, scientists may be able to develop new strategies to slow or stop their spread.

From Science Daily • Apr. 1, 2026

"This is a court that has looked to history and tradition as a significant guide in understanding the Constitution," Schwinn told AFP.

From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026

The model achieves high-fidelity reasoning and language understanding comparable to 16-bit models, but with a memory footprint of 1 gigabyte vs 16 gigabytes, according to PrismML.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

“I bet you’d have a lot to tell us,” Miranda continued, not understanding my squeaks.

From "The World According to Humphrey" by Betty G. Birney

Related Words

• conclusion
• idea
• impression
• interpretation
• judgment
• knowledge
• meaning
• opinion
• perception
• sense
• sympathy
• view