INTERPRET

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does interpret mean? 

• INTERPRET (verb)
  The verb INTERPRET has 6 senses:

1. make sense of; assign a meaning to

2. give an interpretation or explanation to

3. give an interpretation or rendition of

4. create an image or likeness of

5. restate (words) from one language into another language

6. make sense of a language

  Familiarity information: INTERPRET used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• INTERPRET (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they interpret    ... he / she / it interprets   
Past simple: interpreted   
Past participle: interpreted   
-ing form: interpreting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make sense of; assign a meaning to

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

construe; interpret; see

Context example:

How do you interpret his behavior?

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

understand (know and comprehend the nature or meaning of)

Verb group:

consider; reckon; regard; see; view (deem to be)

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

read between the lines (read what is implied but not expressed on the surface)

be amiss; misapprehend; misconceive; misconstrue; misinterpret; misunderstand (interpret in the wrong way)

draw out; educe; elicit; evoke; extract (deduce (a principle) or construe (a meaning))

read; scan (obtain data from magnetic tapes or other digital sources)

read (interpret something that is written or printed)

read; take (interpret something in a certain way; convey a particular meaning or impression)

allegorise; allegorize (interpret as an allegory)

reinterpret (assign a new or different meaning to)

spiritualise; spiritualize (give a spiritual meaning to; read in a spiritual sense)

literalise; literalize (make literal)

mythicise; mythicize (interpret as a myth or in terms of mythology)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence examples:

They won't interpret the story
Sam and Sue interpret the movie

Derivation:

interpretation (a mental representation of the meaning or significance of something)

interpretation (an explanation that results from interpreting something)

interpretation (an explanation of something that is not immediately obvious)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Give an interpretation or explanation to

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

interpret; rede

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

explain; explicate (make plain and comprehensible)

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

moralise; moralize (interpret the moral meaning of)

deconstruct (interpret (a text or an artwork) by the method of deconstructing)

re-explain; reinterpret (interpret from a different viewpoint)

commentate (serve as a commentator, as in sportscasting)

misinterpret (interpret falsely)

annotate; comment; gloss (provide interlinear explanations for words or phrases)

commentate (make a commentary on)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

interpretive (that provides interpretation)

interpreting (an explanation of something that is not immediately obvious)

interpretative (that provides interpretation)

interpretation (an explanation that results from interpreting something)

interpretation (a mental representation of the meaning or significance of something)

interpretation (an explanation of something that is not immediately obvious)

interpretation (the act of interpreting something as expressed in an artistic performance)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Give an interpretation or rendition of

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Synonyms:

interpret; render

Context example:

The pianist rendered the Beethoven sonata beautifully

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

do; execute; perform (carry out or perform an action)

Domain category:

performing arts (arts or skills that require public performance)

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

sing (deliver by singing)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

They will interpret the duet

Derivation:

interpretation (the act of interpreting something as expressed in an artistic performance)

interpretation (an explanation of something that is not immediately obvious)

interpretative (that provides interpretation)

interpreter (someone who uses art to represent something)

interpretive (that provides interpretation)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Create an image or likeness of

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Synonyms:

interpret; represent

Context example:

The painter represented his wife as a young girl

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

re-create (create anew)

Domain category:

art; artistic creation; artistic production (the creation of beautiful or significant things)

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

depict; picture; render; show (show in, or as in, a picture)

chart; graph (represent by means of a graph)

mock up; model (construct a model of)

draw (represent by making a drawing of, as with a pencil, chalk, etc. on a surface)

portray; present (represent abstractly, for example in a painting, drawing, or sculpture)

depict; limn; portray (make a portrait of)

map (make a map of; show or establish the features of details of)

conventionalize; stylise; stylize (represent according to a conventional style)

capture (succeed in representing or expressing something intangible)

paint (make a painting of)

profile (represent in profile, by drawing or painting)

animalise; animalize (represent in the form of an animal)

silhouette (represent by a silhouette)

carnalize; sensualize (represent materialistically, as in a painting or a sculpture)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

interpretation (the act of interpreting something as expressed in an artistic performance)

interpreter (someone who uses art to represent something)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Restate (words) from one language into another language

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

interpret; render; translate

Context example:

He translates for the U.N.

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

ingeminate; iterate; reiterate; repeat; restate; retell (to say, state, or perform again)

Verb group:

translate (be translatable, or be translatable in a certain way)

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

retranslate (translate again)

Latinize (translate into Latin)

mistranslate (translate incorrectly)

gloss (provide an interlinear translation of a word or phrase)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

interpreter ((computer science) a program that translates and executes source language statements one line at a time)

interpreter (someone who mediates between speakers of different languages)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Make sense of a language

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

interpret; read; translate; understand

Context example:

Can you read Greek?

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

understand (know and comprehend the nature or meaning of)

Sentence frames:

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

 Context examples 

A method used by radiologists to interpret and report in a standardized manner the results of mammography, ultrasound, and MRI used in breast cancer screening and diagnosis.

(BI-RADS, NCI Dictionary)

In a scientific research study or clinical trial, a flaw in the study design or the method of collecting or interpreting information.

(Bias, NCI Dictionary)

The Cancer Information Service is the National Cancer Institute's link to the public, interpreting and explaining research findings in a clear and understandable manner, and providing personalized responses to specific questions about cancer.

(Cancer Information Service, NCI Dictionary)

The CIS is the National Cancer Institute's link to the public, interpreting and explaining research findings in a clear and understandable manner, and providing personalized responses to specific questions about cancer.

(CIS, NCI Dictionary)

A statistical calculation describing the central tendency of a set of numbers; used to interpret quantitative data.

(Average, NCI Thesaurus)

Dr. George noted that physicians need to be careful when interpreting these lab tests since both rheumatoid arthritis and obesity can contribute to levels of inflammation.

(Obesity May Influence Rheumatoid Arthritis Blood Tests, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

“In this stalagmite, we interpret an increase in winter rainfall that coincided with an observed change in sea surface temperature patterns in the North Pacific Ocean,” says Ronay.

(Cave stalagmites reveal India’s rainfall secrets, SciDev.Net)

Despite the different materials, temperatures and gravity fields between Earth and Titan, many surface features are similar between the two worlds and can be interpreted as being products of the same geologic processes.

(The First Global Geologic Map of Titan Completed, NASA)

This effect of aspirin has not been noted in previous studies; and caution is needed in interpreting this finding.

(Daily low-dose aspirin found to have no effect on healthy life span in older people, National Institutes of Health)

“These decreases in power were interpreted to reflect toxic effects of long-term exposure to alcohol on the brain cells.”

(Study of brain energy patterns provides new insights into alcohol effects, National Institutes of Health)