COMPREHEND

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does comprehend mean? 

• COMPREHEND (verb)
  The verb COMPREHEND has 3 senses:

1. get the meaning of something

2. to become aware of through the senses

3. include in scope; include as part of something broader; have as one's sphere or territory

  Familiarity information: COMPREHEND used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• COMPREHEND (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they comprehend    ... he / she / it comprehends   
Past simple: comprehended   
Past participle: comprehended   
-ing form: comprehending   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Get the meaning of something

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

apprehend; compass; comprehend; dig; get the picture; grasp; grok; savvy

Context example:

Do you comprehend the meaning of this letter?

Hypernyms (to "comprehend" is one way to...):

understand (know and comprehend the nature or meaning of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "comprehend"):

catch on; cotton on; get it; get onto; get wise; latch on; tumble; twig (understand, usually after some initial difficulty)

intuit (know or grasp by intuition or feeling)

digest (arrange and integrate in the mind)

figure (understand)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

comprehendible; comprehensible (capable of being comprehended or understood)

comprehension (an ability to understand the meaning or importance of something (or the knowledge acquired as a result))

Sense 2

Meaning:

To become aware of through the senses

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Synonyms:

comprehend; perceive

Context example:

I could perceive the ship coming over the horizon

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "comprehend"):

see through (perceive the true nature of)

find (perceive oneself to be in a certain condition or place)

taste (perceive by the sense of taste)

listen (hear with intention)

hear (perceive (sound) via the auditory sense)

sight; spy (catch sight of; to perceive with the eyes)

see (perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight)

touch (perceive via the tactile sense)

smell (inhale the odor of; perceive by the olfactory sense)

ache; hurt; suffer (feel physical pain)

dream (experience while sleeping)

catch; pick up (perceive with the senses quickly, suddenly, or momentarily)

misperceive (perceive incorrectly)

hallucinate (perceive what is not there; have illusions)

divine (perceive intuitively or through some inexplicable perceptive powers)

pick up; receive (register (perceptual input))

apperceive (perceive in terms of a past experience)

feel; sense (perceive by a physical sensation, e.g., coming from the skin or muscles)

Derivation:

comprehension (an ability to understand the meaning or importance of something (or the knowledge acquired as a result))

Sense 3

Meaning:

Include in scope; include as part of something broader; have as one's sphere or territory

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

comprehend; cover; embrace; encompass

Context example:

this should cover everyone in the group

Hypernyms (to "comprehend" is one way to...):

include (have as a part, be made up out of)

Verb group:

address; cover; deal; handle; plow; treat (act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

comprehension (the relation of comprising something)

comprehensive (including all or everything)

comprehensive (broad in scope)

 Context examples 

I heard her with wonder: I could not comprehend this doctrine of endurance; and still less could I understand or sympathise with the forbearance she expressed for her chastiser.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Anne could perfectly comprehend the exquisite relief, and was only the more inclined to wonder at the composure of her friend's usual state of mind.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

I cannot comprehend the neglect of a family library in such days as these.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

Henry's indignation on hearing how Catherine had been treated, on comprehending his father's views, and being ordered to acquiesce in them, had been open and bold.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

You assign greater consequence to the clergyman than one has been used to hear given, or than I can quite comprehend.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

And now I can tolerably comprehend his behaviour.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

This labour took up several days’ conversation, before he was able to comprehend me.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

This she did not comprehend, attributing her incomprehension to his incoherence.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

At first he could not comprehend, and then, when he did, he added convincing evidence.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

A disorder characterized by an individual's inability to comprehend or share ideas or feelings because of an impairment in language, speech, or hearing.

(Communication Disorder, NCI Thesaurus)